Smile before he's gone
by kouken9493
Summary: AU fic. What if Naruto was never found after the clash with Sasuke when he tried to leave with the Sound four? The only things that could be found was his headband and severed left arm. How would things change. More details inside.
1. Without a grave

**This is an AU Naruto fic. Basically the gist of it is what if Orochimaru's body possession technique lasted five years instead of three? What if Naruto was never found after the climactic battle between him and Sasuke? What if, three years after running, Sasuke found out the truth behind the Uchiha massacre? What if he came back to Konoha on his own volition after defeating Orochimaru? This story starts out seven years after Sasuke's betrayal, so all of the gang at Konoha are 19 or 20. The Akatsuki has yet to make their move, so as a side effect, Jiraiya is still alive. All of the Naruto movie story arcs also happened before the beginning of this story. I know it seems to make the story line convoluted, but I didn't want to waste 15 chapters or so explaining all the interactions with Konoha and how they worked. Also in this fic, Kushina was never sealed into Naruto, nor did she die that fateful night, and i will delve deep into that in this chapter. So, if these type of stories aren't the kind of things you are into, then this fic may not be for you, and it might be in your best interest to seek out other fanfics that are more of your taste. To those who are interested, enjoy! Reviews are welcome and encouraged, but please no flames.  
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** I do not own Naruto.  
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><p>Konohagakure, October 10th.<p>

There were festivities all around the village, dedicated to their fallen hero Minato, better known as the Yellow Flash. The sun was already beginning to set behind the Hokage monument, painting the clear sky a myriad of deep crimson and orange, as if in testimony to the nine tailed fox. The festivities would draw well into the night, and showed no signs of slowing down as paper lanterns were lit in preparation for the coming night. Tsunade gazed hatefully at the scene of the village, guzzling down sake in her office at the Hokage tower. This day of the year was always the worst for her. Just how many times, how many times did this village have to take away those she cared about till it was satisfied!

"Naruto..."

There on her desk stood the picture frame of the smiling blonde boy who had gotten so close to her in a span of a few days. After the loss of Dan, and her little brother Nawaki, Tsunade thought it was impossible to care for anyone other than Shizune, and her sensei and perverted team mate. But sure enough, the little blonde gaki had wormed her way into her heart, becoming like a son to her. And now...now he was gone to.

"You would have turned twenty today...sniff...Naruto..." Tsunade choked, trying to keep the tears at bay. After that fateful day, all that the hunter teams had been able to find were his bloodied headband, and a his charred severed left arm. She had refused to believe it, and had went to the site of the battle to prove them wrong. To this day that sight still haunted her. The blood...oh god the blood was everywhere...the water was drenched with it. She had thought she had gotten over her fear of blood ever since the fight with Orochimaru. But the sight...it was just too much. She didn't remember much after that, and woke up in one of the hospital beads to find Shizune standing by her bedside to tell her the unfortunate news. The DNA samples came back positive for Naruto.

It was too much. She broke down and cried in her apprentice's arms, who shed her tears as well. Shizune had come to view the little blonde as a little brother. The council had denied the right to a grave for Naruto. Tsunade had been livid, and threatened execution on the civilian council. Danzo crushed any hope of a memorial for her little blonde, stating that without a body to confirm the death, the most that they could do was list him as M.I.A. Fate was just too cruel.

While there was still some bad blood between her and the civilian council, things had lessened much when Danzo, the ring leader, had died in his sleep. To this day, no one knew the cause, whether it was old age or something else...

Tsunade was broken from her reverie when her office door cracked open to reveal an equally distraught red head.

"...Kushina..."

Two years after his death, Kushina, the Naruto's mother everyone thought to have died, had returned to Konoha with a daughter four years Naruto's junior. They had been residing in Kiri, where they found that the girl's father had died in the bloodline wars. When Tsunade saw Kushina along with a girl look alike of Kushina, she had been furious with her old friend.

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><p>Konohagakure <em>5 years ago, same day.<em>

_"How dare you..." Tsunade seethed at the women, after confirming that she wasn't delusional. How...How dare she walk in now trying to be a part of the boy's life!_

"Tsunade, look, i know you're upset, but-"

_"15 years. 15 GOD. DAMN. FUCKING YEARS! Where the hell were you all this time! Where were you when he needed you!" She screamed._

_"Tsunade, I KNOW! How do you think I felt when I finally pieced myself back together after Minato's death? He never told me what he was going to do with Naruto! He just said he wanted to hold him! After that, i was unconscious and the first thing i wake up to is that my husband is dead and that my son now carries my burden? How was I suppose to handle that!"_

_"BY STAYING BY YOUR SON'S SIDE DAMMIT!"_

_"I tried! But, I was just so full of pain that i wanted to get away from it all! By the time I was slapped myself out of it, I was stuck in Kiri when the bloodline wars started! But now I'm here, and, I want to make up for lost time. Tsunade, please, where is my son?"_

_"Well you should have fucking thought of that BEFORE he died!" Tsunade snapped, she was in no mood to try to ease Kushina into this._

_"Tsunade. That was a horrible and cruel joke. Where is my son."_

_"A joke. A JOKE! Tell me, is it a fucking joke that the council saw fit to send a team of genin after a team of A class Sound nin to retrieve a traitor! Is it a joke that that same traitor, who killed him, was his damn FRIEND! Is it a joke that the only thing left of him was his headband and a severed ARM! DAMMIT KUSHINA!" Tsunade cursed, she didn't care to watch her language in front of the little girl beside her mother, who started to tear up._

_"M-mommy...onii-chan i-is dead?" the girl asked fearfully._

_"No...no...Tsunade, you're lying. YOU'RE LYING. TELL ME WHERE MY SON IS!" Kushina screamed. No matter what Tsunade said, Kushina tried denying it. Tsunade was fed up with it and took them to Konoha memorial stone where it listed those dead or missing. After seeing her sons name on that stone listed as M.I.A., she broke down crying, holding her grieving daughter. After that they had taken up permanent residence in their former family home. It had taken several months, but her and Tsunade had resolved their differences._

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><p>"I thought I'd find you here Tsunade-san." Tsunade humphed.<p>

"If Shizune sent you in to stop me drinking than you can tell her-" Tsunade shut up when Kushina revealed a high quality vintage bottle of sake from behind her.

"I relieved Shizune a couple minutes ago and told her I'd watch after you. Unlike her though, I know that sometimes sake is good for the soul." Kushina stated, plopping herself down on a seat and poured herself a cup as well as one for Tsunade. The two drank in comfortable silence for several minutes until Kushina broke the silence.

"Seven years" Tsunade nodded. nothing else needed to be said.

"Where's Tsuki?" Tsunade asked, wondering where Naruto's younger sister was if her mother was here. Ever since her brother's death, Tsuki devoted herself to becoming a shinobi to carry on Naruto's dream. She was one of the most dedicated and driven kunoichi in Konoha, and may Kami have mercy on the fool to badmouth her dead brother, for she won't show them any. Only sixteen and she was soon to be promoted Jonin, and was hailed as Konoha's newest genius.

"She's spending the day at Hinata's" Was her mother's reply.

Tsunade nodded in understanding. Hinata had come a long way since Naruto's death. After hearing of his death, she had taken on black robes of mourning customary to the Hyuga, and declared to the council that she would never take on a suitor. Hiashi, of course, had challenged her, stating that if she should lose that she would be forced into wedlock with a suitable partner to continue the Hyuga line. Hinata astounded many that day with a show of unseen strength, wiping the floor with her father in front of the council. And as per agreement, Hinata would not be forced to take a suitor and became clan head, and full filled her promise of removing the caged bird seal. The story had become quite popular amongst the younger kuniochi as a tale of tragic unfounded love. As the years progressed, Hinata's innate beauty became more pronounced, attracting a horde of hopeful suitors who hoped to capture the heart of "Konoha's lavender maiden."

Though each and every one of them were sent back with their tale between their legs by her protective cousin Neji. No one would dare mess with the ANBU captain, and those that did, well, lets just say it was not pleasant. After Tsuki had found out about Hinata's affection for her deceased brother, the two had bonded, and often spent this day in Hinata's personal garden, the only place in Konoha were there was a memorial for their departed blonde.

"Such a shame..."

"I hear she still won't let the Uchiha visit her garden." Kushina said. Tsunade chuckled. Hinata, while polite towards the last Uchiha and Sakura, still would not let them visit the memorial in her home. They would ask her every year, and still she would not allow them. Even kakashi, who had taken the loss very hard himself.

"I think her exact words were 'While Naruto-kun may have believed you to be his friends, I will not, nor ever trust you. Now get the hell off of my property.' "

Tsunade chortled.

"She would have made one hell of an Uzumaki." Kushina sadly chuckled.

"Yeah-!" Tsunade's reply was cut short when Jiraiya burst through the window, scaring both women.

"TSUNADE!" Jiraiya yelled, his face greeted by her fist plowing him into a wall, where he comically slid off.

"DAMMIT JIRAIYA! USE THE GOD DAMN DOOR! YOU WANNA GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK! YOU-"

"Tsunade, call an emergency meeting with the clan heads in ten minutes." Jiraiya cut her off, as he got up wiping the dust off him. He was serious.

"What is it about?"

"I'll tell you at the meeting. I need to get some things ready for it." And with that he was gone.

"Dammit Jiraiya!" Kushina got up and corked the bottle shut.

"Come on, it must be urgent." Tsunade sent several ANBU to notify the appropriate people before following her out of the door.

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><p>Konohagakure Hyuga compound, Hinata's personal garden<p>

Hinata sat there with Tsuki, telling tales of her brother's antics during the academy days as they sat in the shade of the sakura tree next to the memorial stone.

"I remember the day before the academy exams, Naruto pulled his biggest prank. He said before he graduated he wanted to do something big before he began his ninja debut."

"What did he do? "

"I remember that Hokage Hiruzen was so mad, Naruto had painted the Hokage monument in broad daylight. The ANBU had chased him all day, but could never catch him. To this day, no one knows how he did it." Hinata chuckled.

"N-no way!" Tsuki was baffled. was that even possible. Sure, Konohamaru and his friends had mentioned it, but they left that little detail out.

"Yup. Konohamaru tried to do it after Naruto, but they caught them before they even started." Both of them chuckled for a while before sitting in comfortable silence. Hinata had grew her hair long since Naruto had told her one day that he thought she would look beautiful with long hair. She was dressed in her traditional black kimono with an orange obi in tribute to her dead beloved. Tsuki was clad in a chunin vest, her Konoha head band tied around her left arm. She wore the traditional navy blue under shirt and pants and shinobi sandals. She let her red hair fall down free much like her mother, framing her blue eyes all the more for the passing admirer.

"Hinata?"

"Yes Tsuki-chan?"

"Do...do you think Onii-chan is proud of me?"

"Naruto would be proud of you no matter what you choose to do, as long as you never give up." The heartfelt moment was cut short as Neji arrived in ANBU gear.

"Hinata! Pardon the intrusion! Tsunade has called an emergency meeting with the clan heads in ten minutes!" Hinata and Tsuki got up immediately to leave. Hinata bowed before the stone before leaving the clearing. Tsuki made way for home, until Hinata called out to her.

"Will you not come with us Tsuki-chan?"

"But, isn't this a clan head only meeting?"

"Yes, but you are one of the last of the Uzumaki clan, I think that will call for an exception. Come." and with that the three headed out to the meeting.

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><p>Konohagakure-Council room<p>

There was a relative vacancy of seats as the civilian council was not present. Though the numbers had gradually dwindled down after Danzo's death. Murmuring was in the air as everyone was at their seats. Once everyone had been accounted for, Tsunade turned to her fellow Sannin.

"Jiraiya, now will you finally tell us why we are here?" Tsunade demanded.

"Hold on hime"

"Goddamit Jiraiya, I told you not to-!" at that moment Kakashi dashed into the room holding a tape.

"Sorry Jiraiya sama, it was hard to find. Hello Hokage-sama." Jiraiya thanked him and took the tape.

"You may stay Kakashi, this pertains to you too. This contains information from the Land of Spring that you may find very...interesting."

"Well then, what are you waiting for! Play the damn tape?"

"Ok ok!, jeesh." The room darkened as the projector started, only to reveal a movie trailer for the unannounced next sequel to the princess gale movies.

"JIRAIYA! YOU CALLED US IN FOR A FUCKING MOVIE!"

"Tsunade, will you please shut up?" Jiraiya asked with a serious expression that made her falter. He turned to Kakashi.

"Kakashi, pause the video, aboooouuuuuut...NOW!" The screen froze to show a new character that was not present from the previous movies. He was clad mostly in black, though his upper body was exposed. He wore a mask similar to the hunter nins, and had long wild blonde hair that reached his waist, along with several braids amongst the blonde mane that ended attached to what resembled chakra blades. The left arm was made to be a black gauntlet, a movie prop most likely.

"Now if you have seen any of the previous movies, you would know that this character has not been in any of the other movies and is a new addition-"

"What are you-?"

"I'm getting there Tsunade! Kakashi, stop at three minutes and forty three seconds of the video." The screen now showed the back view of the character as well as a close up of the left shoulder.

"Now if you notice here, here, and here, that the left arm is actually not a prop or CGI, but actually a prosthetic." Jiraiya pointed out with a laser pointer. "Zoom out please Kakashi." The picture changed again to show the whole figure. "Now notice that their are only nine braids ending with blades. Nine. Sound familiar?"

"Jiraiya, we all know Koyuki held Naruto in high regard. This is an actor though, he's not-"

"Tsunade, what side arm was found at the site?" Sasuke cringed at the reminder of the battle. He hated himself for what he did to his friend.

"The left arm." Tsunade bitterly replied.

"Was that ever made public knowledge?" Everyone's eyes widened. Hinata held back tears threatening to fall. The movie progressed to show the character intercept an enemy's punch and throw them over their shoulder. "There. That move was from one of the toad style Taijutsu katas that I taught Naruto." The movie then fast forwarded to a close up of the characters mask. "Kakashi zoom in and enhance the image." As they could hear the furious typing of the copy cat nin, everyone awaited with baited breath.

_C-could it be? I-is my son still alive?_

_N-naruto-kun? Is it you?_

_Onii-chan?_

_Dobe? Are you still alive?_

They were awarded with their patience when the screen zoomed in on the narrow eye slits and revealed a pair of cerulean blue eyes.

"Naruto is alive. And he's in the land of Spring."

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><p><strong>There! Finished, I hope you guys liked it! hope you readers liked it.<br>**


	2. What's missing?

**So Naruto is alive, the only question remains, why is he hiding? Read on to find out! Hope you enjoy, and please no flames!  
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**I do not own Naruto.**

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><p>Konohagakure council room<p>

Konohamaru, amongst many others, were overjoyed at the news. His 'older brother,' his boss, was still alive.

"Boss...I can't believe it...you're still alive!"

Hinata and Tsuki were crying while hugging each other, and were soon bear hugged by a bawling Kushina who was hopping around the whole council room.

"MY SON! HE'S ALIVE!"

The happiness and joy was infectious in the room, even Hiashi chuckled. Tsunade allowed this to proceed, and after brushing away her own tears away called for attention.

"ALRIGHT! SETTLE DOWN!"

"BOSS IS BACK!"  
>"ONII-CHAN!"<p>

"NARUTO-KUN!"

"SON!"

"GODDAMIT! WHOEVER DOESN'T SHUT UP IS GONNA HAVE "CATCH TORA" MISSIONS FOR A YEAR!" Everyone stopped on a dime and sat in their seats back straight. Jiraiya chuckled at their antics until he was silenced with a glare from Tsunade.

"Now, while it is good news that Naruto is alive, the question remains on how to retrieve him." It was common knowledge that the famous Daimyo from the Land of Spring did not have a very high opinion of Konoha after finding out that the hero of her country had been treated with indifference and had been forced to grow up in relative solitude over something he had no control over. Granted that they weren't enemies, they weren't exactly allies anymore with Naruto 'gone'.

"It is most likely that the Daimyo is aware that Naruto is residing in her country. The fact that she has not notified us that Naruto was alive means that she did not want him to be found. Which means we can't just ask them to hand him over without some hostilities." Tsunade thought out loud.

"Regardless though, his country and loyalty lies with Konoha. we must take action quickly before the populace finds out and we become forced to label him a missing-nin." Hiashi stated. Shikamaru, having taken over his lazy dad's position two years prior, nodded in agreement.

"As troublesome as the situation is, it will become even more so if we don't get him back sooner. Hokage-sama, I suggest making this a infiltrate and capture mission of the highest priority, most likely S rank, as the target is not only a close friend of ours, but also the last Namikaze and Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi." Shikamaru offered.

Tsunade nodded in agreement. "I agree. Any other action will result in a political catastrophe, possibly resulting in an end of trade agreements with the land of Spring. Any Shinobi or Kunoichi you find best recommended for the task, send them to my office before midnight and be prepared for a weeks travel. Note that I have final say in who goes, got that?" The group nodded, and with that Tsunade left the room.

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><p>Konohagakur Hokage's office, 10:00 pm.<p>

It wasn't even close to midnight, and there was already a line outside of Tsunade's office. It had barely been an hour after the meeting had ended, and the word had spread fast between amongst the shinobi. Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temples in irritation.

"All of you can come in now!" They all poured in and somehow managed to fit in. The group consisted of everyone that had been tied to Naruto. Tsuki, Hinata (That was an obvious one), Kushina, Neji, Kurenai, Asuma, Lee, Gai, Kakashi, Kushina, Yakumo, Tenten, Ino, Choji, Shikamaru, Iruka, Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, Shino, Kiba, Sasuke, and Sakura. And those were just the few she could name.

"You all do realize that the mission is an 'Infiltrate and Capture' right? I can't assign more than eight, ten at the most, and even that is pushing it." Almost as soon as she said that the group began to voice their reasons as to why they should be included in the mission. Somehow, throughout all the chaos, the most horrible thing was about to be done.

"OH LEE!"

"GAI SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GA-"

"SO HELP ME, IF YOU TWO HUG IN HERE I WILL ASSIGN YOU 'CATCH TORA' MISSIONS FOR THE REST OF YOUR CAREER!" Tsunade bellowed, saving the group from the horrible unbreakable Gai Lee combo genjustsu. "Now, as to get back to the point. Though I have to say Uchiha, you are the least qualified to go after Naruto, seeing as how your actions have caused this." Tsunade sent a stern glare at Sasuke.

"Look, I know. I still beat myself up about what I had done. I was so consumed with the idea of revenge that I didn't care who I had to hurt to get it. I want to make amends to all the things I have done wrong, I want to- no, I need to bring Naruto home." Tsunade gave him no answer, instead moving on to Iruka

"And you, Iruka? Are you sure you should leave your wife half way through her pregnancy on a dangerous mission? What would Anko say?" Needless to say, Iruka and Anko getting together in a relationship, much less getting married, no one had seen THAT coming. It had been good for both of them though, since Iruka had taken the boy's "death" extremely hard. for the first three years he arrived late to all his lectures, and even then they were half assed. He didn't show any of the passion he had before for his job, and was rarely of any help. Only when Anko found him trying to get himself plastered on the fourth anniversary of Naruto's death did she slap some sense into him and told him he wasn't the only one to miss the "Blonde Gaki." And to ask himself if Naruto really would want him to throw away his life because of him. With that, Iruka had snapped out of his funk, and gained back some of that previous spirit. Somewhere along the way, him and Anko had started seeing each other when out of the blue Iruka asked her to marry him.

Well, given that Anko thought it was Kurenai teasing her with a genjustsu, once she found out it was not so she had glomped the poor man saying "YES!" over and over. Anyways, back to the present.

"Please, Tsunade-sama, he's been doting over me so much these past months, I WANT him to leave for a bit." Anko retorted, revealing herself in the crowd. While this may have seemed insensitive, once you translated it from Anko to English, it went like this:

_"Honey, it's okay you can go. You need to do this for yourself. Be safe." _Or something like that. Ibiki is still working on the translator.

Tsunade humphed and looked towards the Kakashi.

"And you?"

"I need to do this as well. I was his sensei, and I never really did as much as I should have for him. This is my atonement as well."

"Don't you dare think of keeping me off this mission Hokage-sama. I've spent 7 years thinking Naruto-kun was dead, I will not stand by idle while Naruto-kun is out their alive!" Hinata fiercely declared as soon as Tsunade so much as glanced in her direction. Tsunade sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in fustration.

"Hokage-sama, if I may be so bold to suggest," The lazy Shikamaru ventured, drawing everyone's attention at the lazy Nara's uncharacteristic behavior.

"Go on."

"While I did suggest the mission, does not necessarily mean that the mission parameters be solely focused on stealth. Knowing the troublesome blonde, things will blow way out of proportion. A stealth team simply won't work."

"How can you be so sure Shika? A good stealth team could knock him out unconscious and bring him back."Choji asked his friend.

"That won't work. Being a Jinchuriki, Naruto can shrug off most sedatives and regain consciousness relatively fast. As for the silent dispatch, have any of you ever wondered how Naruto was able to evade capture from the ANBU when he was in a bright orange jumpsuit? He'll know we're on his tail, figuratively speaking, and retreat into hiding were we may never find him again for several years. No. The team needs to be a combat oriented one that can bypass the Land of Springs border control and come into direct combat to draw Naruto out. Anything else short of reverse summoning him then re-summoning him here just won't work. The team members should also have some sort of emotional attachment or connection to the troublesome blonde, he will be more wary attacking old friends." Shikamaru replied. After that was said and done, everyone looked towards Tsunade for her final say.

"*sigh*, thank you for summing the situation up Shikamaru. Okay, Listen up! The Naruto retrieval team will consist of the following members: Kakashi, Gai, Hinata, Kiba, Choji, Sakura, Sasuke, Kurenai, Shikamaru, Iruka, and Ino. Meet up at the western gate in ten minutes. Oh, and one last thing. You better not be sea sick." With that, The shinobi present saluted and departed. All save for two.

Kushina was the first to approach Tsunade.

"Tsunade! Why the hell didn't you send me on the mission to get MY SON!" She yelled as she slammed her hands on the desk. Subtlety was never her strong point. Tsunade sighed and ran her hand over her face.

"Dammit Kushina. I know. I know you and Tsuki want to drop everything and go to your son. Hell, the only thing keeping me from running after him and dragging him back here is my duty as Hokage. But the fact is that Naruto has not come back to his home once in seven years. I should know, I've had to read the daily reports from border patrol. Also the fact that Jiraiya's toad summons lied about Naruto's death speaks for itself that he doesn't want to come home for whatever reasons. Right now, seeing his mother he didn't even know he had will do more harm than good." Tsunade explained. "Don't worry, the moment the blonde knuckle head steps foot inside Konoha, I'll let you know."

"Fine." Kushina relented, and lead her daughter towards their home.

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><p>Fire Country Border, Naruto Retrieval team, 11:20 PM<p>

The group had been traveling in relative silence for a little more than an hour before Kiba addressed something Shikamaru had stated earlier.

"Kakashi-san?"

"Yes Kiba?"

"Why doesn't Jiraiya just use the reverse summon technique on Naruto? I mean, he is the toad sage after all." Everyone nodded their heads at this, as all of them, save the Nara, had been mulling this over in their heads. Kakashi sighed before answering the brash Inuzuka's question.

"Normally, yes, that would be the case. A summoning contract allows the current sage that kind of pull over lesser summoners. The only time they cannot do this is when the summoner is either removed, which means they've signed a different summoning contract, or if they're dead. Jiraiya had come in contact with this information a week back, and checked with the toad elders to make sure before he brought it up with Tsunade. The elders had told Jiraiya that Naruto's status read 'deceased' on the scroll, but they were acting shifty, as if they had something to hide."

"But wouldn't they have to answer Jiraiya truthfully?"

"See, that's the thing with summons. They are not obligated to help you out. Some would even leave you out to dry if they wanted to. Others, like Manda the snake summon, set requirements that you must complete before they would even think of helping you. So technically, the toad elders could tell Jiraiya to stick it up his ass, so to speak, and deny an answer. As they are obviously doing now. Which makes this mission all the more difficult since Naruto is making it clear he doesn't want to be found, which makes our job harder." A unsettling silence descended over the group at Kakashi's declaration. "And while this is an S class secret, it does pertain to the mission and you are entitled. Recently one of Jiraiya's spies caught word of an organization calling themselves the "Akatsuki" and are comprised solely of S class missing nins. Their objective seems to be to gather all the Jinchuriki, though for what purpose we don't know. And the fact that we now know where Naruto is, you can be damn sure they know too. Which makes this mission all the more harder."

"We'll get him back." Hinata(**AN: Whenever she's on a mission, Hinata is in her Shipudden outfit**), who had been silent ever since their departure, was the first to break the silence.

"We WILL bring him back. Konoha, its his home, and it still is. We're his family, his precious ones. So help me, if I have to drag him back to Konoha kicking and screaming the whole way, I will! And if the Akatsuki try to take him away, I will make sure I deal with them. PERSONALLY!" She fiercely declared. Everyone felt their resolve strengthen with the Hyuuga heiress's words.

_A women in love is a scary thing_ Kakashi mused.

* * *

><p>Three days later, Somewhere in the Land of Spring<p>

on a stage in an underground ruin, its surfaces fraught with inscriptions and ancient hieroglyphics, stood a man clad in formal robes holding aloft a magnificent gauntlet sending off rays of power in nondescript directions. The man cackled at the group before him.

"BEHOLD, princess, the gauntlet of Sozdanie! With its power, The Third Column shall create a new order. OUR order." The man sneered "Too long, has humanity been devoid of judgement, but for no longer! We shall act as the hand of god, and create a new order!"

"You would do so at the price of thousands of innocents! have you gone mad!" Princess Gale retorted.

"They should feel honored to be used in the name of peace!" At this, one of the princess's bodyguards stepped forward, his face masked and his blonde mane swaying wildly in the air from the force of the malevolent vortex of power. He pointed is black gauntlet at the madman.

"It isn't peace. It's a dictatorship! With you at the top!"

"Oh, how you wound me, brother." The man said in mock hurt. More men in similar garb came out of the shadows. "Tell me, brother, why do you fight against your brothers and sisters for those who hate you for your gift? These, allies, are using you. Nothing more, nothing less. As soon as you've outlived your usefulness they'll stab you in the back."

"Don't listen to him!" the guard, Bohoja, yelled. The man continued.

"Even now brother, our offer still stands. Come back to the waiting arms of your family, where you belong."

"You can take your offer and shove it up your ass for all I care!" The masked guard retorted back heatedly. The man sadly shook his hand.

"It is a pity brother. But not even for family will the way to the new order be stopped."Whatever he had planned to say next was never heard as he blocked a spell from the princess.

"We didn't come here to trade words, we came here to STOP YOU! And that's just what we'll do!" At this all the group sprung into action, the guards taking care of the henchmen while Princess Gale made straight for their leader. Each and every blow from the princess was swatted away insignificantly by the man.

"how!" The man cackled.

"Don't you get it? With Sozdaine, I AM GOD!" At this he sent a vicious strike at the princess, knocking away her staff. "Enough of these childish games. It is time to end this." Dark energies formed on his right hand, and in a flash of movement, he jabbed his hand forward, set out to stab the princess in the heart.

"PRINCESS!"

But as she closed her eyes, Gale could hear the sickening squelch of pierced flesh, but noted the absence of pain. When she dared to open her eyes she was saw the man's hand, slick with blood, inches away from her heart, protruding from the body of of her masked ally.

"YORU!" she screamed in horror. Yoru merely chuckled, coughing up blood in the process.

"Are...you okay *cough* princess?" Yoru called, looking over his shoulder.

"Wh-why did you..."

"YOU STILL DEFY ME BROTHER! TO THINK, I WOULD HAVE GIVEN YOU A PAINLESS END, NOW, YOU CAN SUFFER WITH THE REST OF THEM!" The robed man twisted his arm violently, causing Yoru to cry out in pain.

"STOP IT!" Princess Gale cried. The man cackled and drew his arm out of Yoru, or at least attempted. When he looked to see what had stooped him, he saw Yoru's right hand clamped around his arm like a vice. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break free.

"LET GO OF ME!" Yoru merely chuckled.

"He he *cough cough* You know, I still see them. In my dreams, they come to me. Every *cough* man, woman, and child I ever killed. Every sin comes back to haunt me. I've done so many things wrong, but at least in the end...I got to do one thing right." Yoru rose his left arm, his black gauntlet gleaming in the light.

"no. NO. LET GO OF ME!" The man tried frantically to free his arm.

"Gladly" Yoru sneered, rending the mans right arm from his body with his clawed hand.

"GAAAAH!" The man clutched his heavily bleeding side in a futile attempt to stop the flow of blood. Yoru tore the severed arm from his torso and flung it away, only to promptly collapse. Princess Gale took this opportunity to finish the fight.

"ITS OVER!" and with a blast of power from her recovered staff, the man faded to ashes. The sounds of battle died away, each of the members of the order dispatched. Her loyal companions made way to the huddled form of their princess who cradled the head of their dying comrade in her lap. Tears flowed unheeded from her eyes as she gazed into her fallen ally's cerulean blue eyes, his mask discarded.

"Wh-Why? *hic* why did you do that!" She sobbed. Yoru smiled sadly at her.

"*cough* I did it...because you were the first person...*cough cough* to ever be my friend" Yoru weakly replied, prompting Gale to cry even harder. He weakly clasped his necklace and handed it to Gale. Her eyes widened. "Here...I want you to have this."

"Bu-but! Its the only memory you have of your previous life!"

"Please, I want you to have it. Think of it...as a gift." With that said he pushed it into her hands. "*cough* I...I wonder if I'll ever see you again...but I doubt it, since I'm going to hell...but I do hope you find happiness Princess Gale."

"Yoru...*hic*...I'll never forget you..." Gale sobbed.

"Karas..."

"?"

"I just remembered...*cough* my real name...It's Karas..."

"It's a beautiful name..."

"My times up *cough*...Goodbye, Princess Gale..." She could do no more than watch as the light left his eyes and his breathing stilled. Gently, she closed each eye, kissing them shut, before whispering "Goodbye...Karas..."

"ANNNNNNNND CUT!" The lights flooded on the scene as the stage crew filed in and the actors got up. The director was literally in tears as he approached his two stars. "That. Was. BEAUTIFUL!" He shouted hugging Naruto and princess Koyuki. The two actors saw many of the crew members in similar states, bawling their eyes out, but nonetheless continuing to do their jobs. He let them go and clapped a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"My boy! You, have a gift! I have another movie coming up in a year. I would love to have you star in it!"

"Sorry Mr. Xiǎngxiànglì. This was just a favor for Princess Koyuki. Besides, I don't think I'm really cut out for acting." The blonde chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed with all the praise. The director merely chuckled.

"Nonsense my boy! You are much too modest! Such a shame though, you have talent that other actors would kill for. In case you ever change your mind though, here's my card! We'll always have a job open for ya!" The director replied, shoving his business card into Naruto's hands.

"Thanks! I'll be sure to keep you in mind if I ever want to get back into showbiz. So, was that the last take?"

"You bet my boy! As of now, all the filming is over! Now all we have to do is ship the film to the editors. NOW THIS CALLS FOR A CELEBRATION! HOW ABOUT IT MY BOY? THERE'LL BE WOMEN, DRINKS, MUSIC, AND DANCING!" the director cried. Many of the other staff perked up at his words.

"Sorry Mr. Xiǎngxiànglì, but I'll have to pass." Naruto politely declined. "I promised to spend the rest of the day with my daughter after I was done at the studio." The director shook his head.

"It's admirable for one so young to be so dedicated to his daughter, and a single parent no less. But my boy, you have to live a little! Take a night out in the town, meet some women, get lai-" Koyuki stopped him mid tyraid by bopping him on the head.

"I think that's enough director-san. Your idea of living is getting plastered and going to Hostess clubs. I think its admirable that Naruto spends so much time with his daughter." Koyuki declared, allowing Naruto enough time to sneak off to his trailer to change back into his clothes. He walked by the occasional employee or actor, nodding or giving a wave of greeting before entering the nondescript trailer and closing the door behind him.

Using a rag he wiped away the fake blood and makeup, revealing three whisker like marks on each cheek. Over the years he grew up to look even more like his father, his baby fat long since gone. He removed the fake prop blades from their braids, replacing them with their chakra blade counterparts. After that was done, he peeled away the decorative covering of his chakra armor prosthetic, its design far more intricate and improved compared to the first one he was given, compliments of Princess Koyuki.

After putting on his black slacks he donned his button up collared white shirt (Which he left un tucked, wouldn't want to look like a prick now, would he?). Just as he was putting on his black trench coat in preparation for the cold air, Princess Koyuki entered his room.

"Hey there."

"Hey." Naruto replied, not pausing from wrapping the white scarf around his lower face, not only to cover his whisker marks but also to ward off the chilly air outside.

"You're going to leave now, aren't you?"

Naruto sighed inwardly. He knew this was coming.

"Yes. At the end of the week me and Hikari will head out for Suna for a brief respite. I can't thank you enough for giving me this job and letting us live normal lives for a little bit. Well, I should get going, Hikari is expecting me soon, wouldn't want to make her wait." Naruto replied, hoping that the conversation would end, and made his way towards the door. Though before he could open it, Koyuki grasped his shoulder.

"Naruto, you can stay here. I could adopt you, give you amnesty from fire country, you can settle down and give Hikari the life you always wanted her to have. Stay."

Naruto sighed. "Believe me, Koyuki-chan. I would. I would love to settle down and give Haikari a chance at a normal life I never had. But as much as I want to, I can't pile my troubles on my friends. Sure, you can adopt us, declare political amnesty, but that would effectively end any ties with Fire Country. It might even escalate to war if they want their Jinchuriki back that badly. Spring country is still rebuilding itself. I can't deny your country a possible future ally just for my selfish reasons." And with that, Naruto left the trailer, signifying an end to the conversation.

"Don't you think you have a right to be selfish about this? After all the things you've done for others, don't you think you're entitled to be selfish about this?" Koyuki asked him from the doorway. Naruto merely smiled sadly at her, and while his face may have been covered, his eyes conveyed exactly what couldn't be said. They showed someone who had seen too much, who had lost too much.

"There's nothing left to be selfish for."

* * *

><p>"DAAAAAAADDDDYYYY!" As soon as Naruto stepped foot in the grounds of the Elementary school, a little blond blue eyed girl tackled him, hanging on to him like a monkey. Her hair was tied up in twin pig tails, though she lacked her dad's whiskers, something she was sorely jealous of. She wore a orange hoodie, much like her dad when he was a genin, jeans, and brown Ugg boots. She had a little red backpack, and while a little worn around the edges, she refused a replacement.<p>

"OOOOF!" Naruto staggered under the force his little girl collided with him. He chuckled at the little girl's antics, ruffling her hair with his hand. "Hey there. Did daddy's little girl behave herself?" Hikari nodded her head furiously with such vigor that some bystanders thought she was gonna break her neck.

"YUP! SO DADDY, WHERE ARE WE GONNA GO TODAY? OOH! OOH! I KNOW! WE CAN GO TO THE FAIR! PLEASE PLEEEEEAAAASSEE! CAN WE CAN WE CAN WE!" Hikari shouted, shaking her dad furiously. Naruto laughed at her antics, she reminded him so much of himself before...everything happened.

"Sure thing. After all, you did keep up your part of the bargain."

"YAAAAAAAY!" Hikari jumped off her dad and danced around him in circles from the excitement. Just as he was about to calm her down so that they could leave, he saw her teacher running up to them out of breath.

"*huff, huff* Hikari! Don't run off like that! You could get lost! Then how will your dad find..you..." Tsubaki faltered as she noticed just who Hikari was with and blushed considerably. "Ah! Mr. U-uzumaki, I di-didn't notice you there. I'm sorry th-that Hikari ran off under my watch!"

"It's okay, I've been trying to teach her not to do that anymore. Hikari, what did I tell you about worrying little Ms. Tsubaki." He said in a mock reprimanding tone. Hikari had the good nature to look emberassed, and looked down and trailed circles in the ground with her left foot.

"Uh, you said not to, and to listen to what Ms. Tsubaki says..." Hikari said meekly. Naruto eye smiled.

"Good, now be sure to do that. Thank you for watching after my daughter Tsubaki-chan. Now, if you'll excuse us, I promised my little girl to take her wherever she wants today." Tsubaki blushed even more when he referred to her as -chan.

"N-not at all! H-have a wonderful day Mr. Uzumaki!" Tsubaki said as she bowed.

"Please, just call me Naruto. Have a wonderful day Tsubaki-chan!" and with that the two blondes departed. Tsubaki stood there and watched them leave, to be joined by a fellow teacher's aid.

"So sad to be a widower at such a young age, especially for a handsome man like him. *Sigh*"

"*Sigh*...yeah." Both of them clammed up though from a wave of Killing intent that washed over them, only to disappear suddenly.

* * *

><p>In the Shadows<p>

_"Hinata! We are not to give away our position! What were you thinking! Naruto could have sensed us!" Kakashi reprimanded the Hyuga. Hyuga blushed in shame._

_"Gomen, Kakashi-san. I just, didn't know what came over me..."_

_"Don't worry Hinata-chan. After we tie him up you can have your way with him, though I'm gonna have to ask if I can have him second." Ino teased. Hinata blushed a dark crimson._

_"NANI!"_

_"Ino! Enough! Kiba, did Naruto notice?" Kurenai ordered. The Inuzuka shook his head._

_"Nope, so far as I can tell, he hasn't noticed us." _

_Kakashi nodded."Good, lets keep it that way."_

_"Hai."_

_"Who would have thought that Naruto had a kid." Kiba said after a while._

_"What, you're mad that you're still a virgin dog boy?" Ino teased._

_"How did you know!"_

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"..."  
><em>

_"Fuck..."_

_"Oh, this is gold..." Ino chuckled mischievously. Kakashi whacked them over the heads._

_"FOCUS!"_

_"Hai, gomen Kakashi-san." They replied sheepishly. Kurenai looked over to Gai._

_"I've never seen Kakashi so serious."_

_"Yosh. My rival's flames of youth have returned. These past few years he has been most un-youthful with his moping about."_

* * *

><p>Back with Naruto<em><br>_

Naruto felt a shiver go down his spine as if he had been forced to listen to one of Gai and Lee's speeches of flames of youth.

_Could it be? Nah, must be imagining it..._

* * *

><p>The fair grounds were bustling with activity. Acrobats performed stunts, magicians wowing the crowd with tricks, and stands offering prizes for a lucky winner. Hikari was having a blast, running from stall to stall, trying different games and food. And dragging Naruto on all the rides she wanted to try. The sun had begun to set and Naruto planned on taking Hikari home soon before it got dark, despite the fact that many people were still at the festival having fun.<p>

"Come on Hikari, time to go home."

"AWWWW! Bu-BUT DADDY! PLEASE, JUST TEN MORE MINUTES! PREWTY PWEAAASE!" Hikari then activated the dreaded puppy dog eyes no justu. For the next five minutes Naruto and Hikari held a staring contest until Naruto broke the silence.

"No." Hikari slumped in defeat.

"AWWWWWWWW!" as they made their way to leave they bumped into two figures.

"Aw, leaving so soon? But the fun's just beginning." The larger man stated. They were both clad in black cloaks with red clouds on them.

"Do I know you?" Naruto asked.

"You have something we want, Naruto Uzumaki. The nine tailed Fox." The shorter one with fair skin and black eyes stated. Naruto made sure to school his face into a look of confusion while internally his mind was int turmoil.

_Shit! How do they-oh crap, they're s too many people around. _

"What? I'm sorry sir, but you must be mistaken. Wasn't the nine tailed fox killed by the Yellow Flash 20 years ago? At least, as far as I know. If you will excuse us sirs, its getting late and we are retiring for the night." And with that, Naruto lead his daughter away in the opposite direction from the men. Instinct, and countless years of battle experience saved him in the next few moments from a blow that would have decapitated him. Using his left arm to block the swing from the mighty blade, Naruto barely avoided death. Sad to say, not the same could be said for his sleeve, which was torn to shreds. The force of the blow cracked the ground beneath their feet, a metallic clang reverberating in the air. When Naruto saw the civilians unaffected by this did he realize his predicament.

_FUCK! THEY'VE PUT A BARRIER WITH A MULTI-LAYERED GENJUTSU ON THE AREA!_

Hikari clung to her father, scared.

"You can not escape, Jinchuriki." The man from before stated, solidifying Naruto's theory. At the time only one thought passed through Naruto's head.

_And I just bought these clothes today too dammit..._

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the cliffhanger guys! Originally, I planned on incorporating the whole fight scene in the chapter, but the way I had it planned out would have dragged on and on and on and would have taken me forever to complete. Next chapter though we get to see the new Naruto in action! so until then, stay tuned. Reviews are encouraged, and please no flames!<br>**


	3. Old wounds

**The Red Dawn has arrived, and Naruto is their target! Will the Naruto retrieval team be able to help in time? Will Naruto be able to hold the Akatsuki at bay while protecting his daughter? (She's 5 by the way) Read on to find out! Enjoy, and please no flames!**

**For those of you that were wondering, Naruto's trench coat is very similar to an armani black wool jacket. If you want any more details on how it looks, just go to the website "ioffer" and search "Armani Men's Black Wool Jacket" and it'll be the second one to come up in the search.  
><strong>

**I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

><p>The Naruto retrieval team had been maintaining surveillance on their target for the past few hours. After finding the studio that he worked at, they had to bid their time to wait for him to leave, finding out that Princess Koyuki had assigned several local nin for security. They had shadowed the family to the local fair, taking up position up on a hill overlooking the whole scene. While they could blend in with the crowd and keep a close watch on them, Kakashi didn't want to risk it. He had done so many things wrong when he was Naruto's sensei. He neglected him, and failed to look after him. He would not mess this up.<p>

He would bring him home, if it was the last thing he did. For now they would wait, and confront Naruto when the time was right, no sooner, no later. It was hard to resist the urge to run after the blonde after believing him to be dead all these years. He could see several other members of the team visibly having trouble remaining put while their long lost friend was in front of them. Most notably Sakura, Sasuke, and Hinata. He would not worry though, for like him, no one on the team wanted to do anything to mess up the mission.

Currently their favorite blonde was at a shooting gallery winning his daughter a stuffed toad. Of all the things Kakashi thought Naruto would be in the next decade after being assigned him, parent never came to mind. Let alone a single parent. He wondered how Hinata was taking it, since her love for the blonde had become somewhat of a legend and fairytale in the village. A heiress to a prominent clan falling in love with the village pariah, only to have her beloved die. It certainly fit the role of fairytale. He-

WAIT! What was that? Kakashi directed his gaze back at Naruto after catching something in his peripheral vision when he had let his mind wander. Nothing was out of the ordinary, just Naruto winning his daughter a stuffed toy-

Wait, the same one? Kakashi directed his gaze towards the daughter, who set aside the toad only for it to disappear once a villager passed by. It was then that Kakashi noticed it. The whole fair was in a loop! It was set to repeat at intervals where it would hardly be noticeable. Kakashi would have applauded the caster if not for what the presence of such a genjustsu implied. SHIT!

"Team, this is Kakashi. Code red. I repeat, code red. Someone's made their move on Naruto." Instantly the comm net was a buzz with panicked voices.

"WHAT!"

"WHERE!"

"BUT NARUTO'S STILL THERE!"

"Kurenai, focus on the daughter, notice anything?"

"I don't see why-oh, shit, we've been duped. Its a genjutsu." She replied angrily. How could she, the genjutsu mistress of Konoha, be duped? It was inexcusable, and could prove fatal for Naruto. Several murmurs of Kai later, and the squad had still been unable to remove the genjutsu.

"Got any ideas Kurenai?" Kakashi asked. He waited, each second seeming like an hour. Every moment counted in these situations. One second could mean the difference between life and death. Kakashi refused to let Naruto die so close to bringing him back home.

"It's well crafted, they probably have a partner nearby that is continuously layering its structure in order to ensure the genjutsu does not dispel, or they have set custom seals in a perimeter to induce a similar effect. While we could just charge in, we would be at the attacker's mercy." Kakashi cursed under his breath.

"Kiba! can you detect anyone in the surrounding vicinity?"

"I can try! but with so many people Akumaru and I are going to have a hard time finding the partner in all the background scents!" Kiba replied.

"Kakashi san! I think I found something!"

"What is it Hinata?"

"I found the seals, it looks like they've also put barrier tags as well! There's four in total in a roughly square shape. The closest one is half a mile northwest of us, about another mile up is the second one. Half a mile north east is the third, and the fourth is a mile south east."

"thanks Hinata. Kiba, Sasuke, Gai, and Iruka! I want those seals taken down now! We'll be in position to offer assistance if needed! Be careful, they might be rigged with traps or failsafes."

"Hai!"

_Please Naruto, be safe._ Hinata silently pleaded to herself.

* * *

><p>Inside the barrier...<p>

"So, I'm guessing an I. O. U's not gonna cut it is it?" Naruto deadpanned. The man wielding the sword chuckled.

"So, we got one with a sense of humor eh? Well, at least we're not the ones tasked with getting the lunatic one tail's, huh partner?" Naruto's eyes narrowed at the mention of his friend Gara.

"Wha-what did you guys do to uncle Gara?" Hikari asked fearfully. The man chuckled.

"Oh, don't worry your little head over it, your daddy will be joining him soon."'

"You bastard! **Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!**" A clone of Naruto poofed into existence. Naruto handed Hikari to the clone. "Take her to the Safe House." The clone nodded. Hikari grabbed desperately towards her father.

"DADDY! NO!" She sobbed. Naruto smiled at her.

"Don't worry! Daddy's gonna beat these guys, I'll be back before you know it." and with that the shadow clone ran off. The other man, who had yet to make a move dashed forward, kunai in hand, towards the clone, disrupting it with a kunai to the back of the head. With the momentum from the clone, Hikari was sent tumbling in the dirt. The man placed his foot on the girls back, forcing her down.

"Did you think we would let any witnesses live? Your exile has made you-"A Chakra armored fist slamming into his face sent him flying through several stands.

"YOU EVEN FUCKING TOUCH MY DAUGHTER, AND I'LL SEND YOU STRAIGHT TO HELL!" Naruto roared. The sword wielding man whistled.

"Woah, 12 stands. Packs quite the punch, huh Itachi?" Said man removed himself from the wreckage, his veiled kasa laying forgotten, revealing a fair skinned man with the telltale black eyes of an Uchiha. He rubbed his jaw which was already beginning to bruise.

_That was close, had his fist done more than graze me my head would have been lobbed off._ Itachi pondered. "Kisame, you're more suited for his type, you deal with him." Said man laughed and threw away his kasa, revealing him to have a shark like nature with blue skin and marks like gills on his face.

"Finally! I've been itching for a good fight!"

"Just make sure you don't cause to much collateral damage."

"No promises!"

"Hn. Very well." Kisame turned to his opponent to only see the little girl gone.

"Hey, where'd the brat go?" Naruto chuckled.

"Safe, that's all you need to know. Now surrender and die."

"Don't you mean surrender, OR die?"

"Nope."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...I like you kid." Kisame chuckled.

"Can't say the same for you Shark ass face."

"THAT'S IT!"

* * *

><p>A Huge explosion from within the barrier sent tremors throughout the valley, sending some of the team to stumble.<p>

"SHIT! Guys, whats the status on those seals?" Kakashi asked into his communicator.

"ETA 30 seconds" Gai responded.

_Shit. Come on, hang in there Naruto!_

* * *

><p>Naruto was sent back from the ferocious blow from Samehada. his feet making rivets in the dirt as he was blown back. His chakra armor arm had had a burn mark from the point of impact.<em> Damn, the blow was like one of the old hag's punches! <em>He could make out the form of the enraged Kisame running towards him, sword waved angrily in the air.

"WHAT WAS THAT BITCH?" Kisame roared. _Must be sensitive about his skin color...OH SHIT! _Naruto was forced to dodge as Kisame jumped in the air, sword raised over his head to bring down in a crushing axe like motion. The point of impact made a giant fissure. "DAMMIT! STAY STILL!" He roared, dashing after Naruto with a tremendous burst of speed. While this was going on, Itachi was pondering where the little girl Naruto was with had gone_. The barrier's still active, and shown no signs of breaching. And I don't sense her presence in here, where did she... _Itachi was cut short from his musings as he was forced to sidestep a chunk of falling debris coming his way._  
><em>

"SHIT! SORRY ITACHI!" Itachi sighed at his partner's destructive tendencies. Currently their target had yet to strike back, infuriating Kisame even further. That would be changed soon though once Kisame would up the ante. Which should be in 5...4...3...2...1...

"**Suiton: Bakusui Shōha**!" Kisame issued a giant stream of water from his mouth, which erupted into a large tidal wave, with Kisame riding in the forefront, grinning eagerly at the thought of blood shed. Naruto jumped, though much to his surprise the waves followed him, allowing Kisame to slash his chest. Naruto was barely able to back step to avoid being cut in half, but the wound still stung like a bitch. Yet, accompanying the pain was an odd loss of chakra. With the barrier in place, the whole fair had flooded, now resembling a lake more than a valley.

"That thing drains chakra, doesn't it?" Naruto said in realization. Kisame chuckled.

"Yup. You're the first to realize that after the first hit. Usually most only piece it together before Samehada here rips them to shreds." Kisame replied, mirth in his eyes as he recalled those battles.

"Well, that's annoying." Naruto retorted, pulling out a tantō from inside his trench coat, its handle made of a dark oak, its blade straight and no longer than his forearm. He held it in his right hand in a reverse grip, and got into a defensive stance.

"Huh, you think that's gonna do you much good against Samehada?" Kisame chuckled. Naruto merely smirked. Kisame shrugged. "Oh well, its your funeral I guess." And with both figures dashed forward, eager to get in the first strike.

* * *

><p>"Okay team, the seals have to be removed at the same time. On three! One! Two! THREE!" The seals came off easily, almost too easily in Kakashi's opinion. But sure enough, the barrier dispelled, unleashing a torrent of water that soon filled the valley, and would have drowned the team had they not responded so quickly. The genjutsu dispelled revealing Naruto engaged in a fierce kenjutsu match with a man wielding a giant bandaged sword. before they could intervene though, four figures came up to intercept them.<p>

"Otōto, my you've grown. I'm sorry, but I cannot let you nor your allies interfere in this fight." the man said as he came up alongside the clones of Kisame.

"Itachi..."

* * *

><p>Kisame was pissed. How the hell was this brat blocking all his hits like noting? Samehada should have snapped that little tantō in half! It was infuriating! The Jinchuiki didn't even use the weapon to strike, instead opting to use his left arm and chakra blades to counterattack, which, might he add, were very annoying. His opponent never settled into a stationary stance, and was constantly pivoting and flowing, making the chakra blades in his hair whirl around like serpents before slashing him at an unexpected angle. When he brought down Samehada in an overhead strike, just to be countered by the short sword did he get a close up view of it.<p>

The tantō had no edge! While it seemed to be of normal design, it was blunted, and had strange inscriptions carved into it. Wait a second...

"YOU ASS! What the hell did you put on that sword?" Kisame yelled. Naruto chuckled.

"Finally pieced it together, huh? As you know, its a defensive weapon. NULL here matches any chakra, momentum, and force applied to it and sends it back, nullifying any kenjustsu based attacks. Right now its just a battle of skills."

Kisame smirked. "Boy, you've been the most interesting battle I've had yet. Shame I have to capture you." he replied, swinging low over Naruto's legs, only to have him flip over it, making on of his chakra blades nick him on the cheek.

"We''ll see about that!" Naruto snidely replied. Kisame frowned, those chakra blades were annoying, he couldn't predict their erratic movements, and would pose a problem later on. Sure, all they had done so far were little flesh wounds, but what if they were intentional to lull him in a sense of false security before giving him a fatal wound? Either way, it would be annoying and long to continue fighting this way. The barrier had already been breached, and although Itachi had went to go dispatch the intruders, it would be best if he finished this quickly. Dashing back he flashed through several hand signs.

"**Suiton: Senshokukō!**" A thousand sharks formed from the still water and rushed forward creating a wave of hungry teeth. They charge forward viciously. Naruto paled.

"Shit..." Breaking from his stupor he ran forward, chakra blades glowing from the wind chakra he was layering over them. Jumping and performing a front flip, he let lose the wind chakra, which converged to form a giant crescent rising high above the wave of teeth.

"**Burēdo Mikadzuki!**" The crescent tore through the wave like a hot knife through butter, stupefying Kisame. That is, until he realized the attack was heading straight for him.

"SHIT!" He barely brought up Samehada to absorb the attack, but wherever Samehada wasn't able to cover was flayed from the wind chakra. Kisame breathed heavily, even though Samehada had been able to absorb a good chunk of the chakra, the force of the blow felt like the combined force of a thousand of Gai's punches. His right shoulder and shin had been sliced open, had he not been layering chakra over his skin in defense, his right leg below the knee may very well have been cut clean off. Though his opponent didn't look better off either. The chakra needed for such an attack must have been monstrous.

"*huff* *huff* You give up? *huff*" Naruto wheezed.

"Hah! *huff* as *huff* if!" Kisame weakly retorted.

"Stubborn bastard..."

"Right back at ya..."

* * *

><p>Kakashi and company had been fighting fervently against the Kisame clones. Though unlike normal clone types, these were much more sturdier and didn't dispel after a few hits. One even had its right arm singed from Sasuke's Fireball attacks and it was still going. They were already struggling and Itachi hadn't so much as lifted a finger against them. The team panicked after glimpsing the chaos from Naruto's battle.<p>

Kakashi was almost beheaded as the clone Kisame swung at his head. "I would worry more about your battle than the Jinchuriki's. Don't worry, we won't kill him...yet." the clone sneered. Iruka and the others were having similar problems with their opponents.

"Dammit! what does it take for you bastards to die?" Sasuke yelled in frustration. Both him and Kakashi had driven a chidori into their respective opponents only to have them shrug it off. Another explosion where Naruto was signified the situation worsening.

"NARUTO-KUN! LET ME THROUGH!" Hinata yelled, sending a junken strike straight to the clone's...balls. The pain, too intense for words, forced the clone to dispel, making every man in the vicinity cup their family jewels in pain and fear. Even Itachi.

"That works too..." Sasuke idly commented. Though the battle stopped when they saw a figure flying towards them at high speeds.

"...aaaaaAAAAAA**AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!**" The real Kisame impacted with the water near Itachi, sending a huge splash of water flying everywhere. He slowly floated back to the surface on his back.

"I see you are having difficulties Kisame?" Itachi asked indifferently.

"*cough* *cough* No Shit Sherlock *cough*" Kisame snapped. Itachi nodded and picked up Kisame, while the clones dispelled.

"We shall depart for now. I hope you become stronger, Otōto, until next time." and with that said they shunshined after they left the water diminished till it too, disappeared.

"NARUTO-KUN!" Hinata and the others rushed to the bloodied form of Naruto, who was slowly limping away. He was a mess, His blonde hair splashe with blood, numerous cuts still in the process of healing, some showing the underlying bone. He tried to walk before stumbling to his knees, coughing out blood. The others rushed to the scene as Hinata gently helped him up.

_Oh god..._That was all that Kakashi thought at seeing Naruto's bloodied form. How could he let this happen? They were so close to getting Naruto back only to find him near death. Naruto fumbled through what remained of his trench coat before pulling out a key, placing it in the air and turning it, prompting a door to appear out of no where. He stumbled forward with Hinata's help, soon followed by the rest of the group. They walked into a luxurious home, hardwood floors complemented by the mocha colored walls. A small hallway lead into the living room which connected with the kitchen. Two couches of soft luxurious leather dominated the living room, accompanied by a large tv and dark wood coffee table. The kitchen itself had granite counter tops, with cherry wood cabinets. One side of the living room led to a set of stairs, suggesting a second floor, while the other lead to a hallway with three doors.

Naruto limped towards the latter leaving a small trail of blood, going to the middle door and opening it, showing a room that was painted in a contrasting white, with a bed and medical cabinet. It was clearly meant as a sickbay of sorts. Naruto went over to the medical cabinet, only to be lead away by Gai and Kakashi towards the bed. Only then did he seem to recognize them and tried to struggle, only to produce a coughing fit.

"Dammit Naruto! stay still!" Kakashi grunted, straining against the weakened boy's thrashing.

"No *cough* *cough* I...won't go *cough* back!" He struggled for a good minute before Kurenai came forward and put him in a genjutsu induced sleep.

"Ino! Hinata! I want you to help Sakura get Naruto stable, we can't travel with him in this condition, I'll-" Kakashi was interrupted mid order as Hikari opened the door in her pajamas.

"Daddy!" She said happily, only to stop when she saw strangers crowded around her dad, and worse, they were ninja. Even worse still when she saw her daddy covered in blood."No! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE DADDY FROM ME!" She yelled, punching the nearest ninja in the nuts, which happened to be Sasuke, who doubled over in pain. She then ran towards Kakashi and started biting and kicking his shins since she couldn't reach that vulnerable place since Kakashi was taller. Hinata went over to the poor frightened girl and enveloped her in a hug.

"Shh...Shh...It's okay, we're not here to hurt your daddy, he's our friend. We're trying to help him." She cooed softly to the crying girl.

'Bu-but, those bad men that hurt daddy, th-they wore your headband. They hu-hurt daddy a lot. Th-they killed mommy!"**(AN:She's referencing to something that happened to Naruto five years ago, just to clear up the confusion)** The little girl wailed. The team was shocked. Was this why Naruto never came back home? For some reason, the whole group felt sick, as if they were somehow responsible.

"Don't worry, we'd never do anything like that to your daddy. My name's Hinata, whats yours?" The little girl seemed to calm down a bit, but only a little.

"M-my names Hi-Hikari" She sniffed. Hinata smiled.

"That's a beautiful name."

"My d-daddy says its b-because I'm his little light in the sky." She replied. Everyone felt saddened at the unsaid meaning. That this girl was the only reason he had for living. For someone who never gave up, it was unsettling.

As Hinata gently rocked the little girl, everyone wondered.

_How much have you suffered, Naruto?..._

* * *

><p>Sakura came out of the room to find everyone sitting in the living room, pensive in thought. Heads snapped up to her as she gently closed the door. The procedure had lasted six hours, and despite everyone's exhausted state, none of them would rest. Hinata and Ino had helped for the first two hours, but seeing as they had played a more direct role in the battle, any longer and they would have fainted from chakra exhaustion. Hikari, despite Hinata's efforts, would not go to sleep.<p>

"What's his status Sakura?" Iruka asked, fear growing at her grave expression.

"I was able to stabilize him. But when I was running a diagnostic, I found something..." Sakura looked at Hikari, as if she should not hear what was going to be said.

"Daddy's going to die. It's okay, I already know." The little girl said sadly shocking everyone.

"H-how did you know?" Sakura asked, startled that the girl knew this.

"D-daddy said that after he escaped from the bad Leaf men with me, that he started feeling sick. He went to a lot of doctors, and they told him he's gonna die. Daddy told me, but said that I would live with Aunt Koyuki when that happens. B-but! It's gonna be okay, cause I'm gonna be a doctor! S-so d-daddy won't die!" She said bravely. Kakashi turned to Sakura.

"Sakura...is this...is this true?" Kakashi choked. Sakura merely nodded.

"When I was running a diagnostic to make sure I didn't miss anything, I noticed that his organs were in a constant state of decay. The Kyuubi's chakra is regenerating them as we speak, but the chakra's very nature is corrosive, and is doing more harm than good. I can't tell how much time he has left, but its not much." Sakura replied. Everyone was devastated. Hinata cried, not wanting to believe it.

_Kami... do you enjoy tormenting me?_

"You-you're lying Sakura. You're lying!" Hinata yelled, tears flooding her eyes.

"She's not lying Hinata-chan."Everyone turned to see the bandaged form of Naruto standing in the hallway.

"Naruto! You shouldn't be up! you should be in bed still!" Sakura gasped. Hikari jumped off the couch and hugged her dad's legs.

"DADDY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I-IF I HADN'T MADE YOU TAKE ME TO THE FAIR, NONE OF THIS WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED!" Hikari wailed. Naruto picked her up and rocked her gently.

"Shush, I'm fine. It was none of your fault, so don't you dare think it was, okay missey?" He mock glared before kissing her forehead. He turned to the group. "As you can see Ms. Haruno, I'm fine. Now if you will excuse me for a brief moment, its way pass this girls bed time."

"But I couldn't sleep without a song daddy." replied Hikari.

"What am I going to do with you?" Naruto chided before carrying her up to the second floor. The group followed slowly at a distance. Naruto took her down the hall to the third room, which revealed itself to be Hikari's bedroom. The Lavender colored walls were decorated from with posters, many of the, were Princess Gales posters. One though was a photo collage which showed Hikari at various ages, playing with Naruto at a beach, pulling Gaara's hair, and imitating Princess Koyuki. Naruto tucked Hikari into bed, giving her her plush red fox.

"So, what song do you want me to sing this time twerp?"

"The song you always sing me daddy!"

"That one? Again?"

"What? I like the way you sing it!"

"Okay okay." Naruto relented and picked up a music box, twirling the key several times before it played a soft melody.

**(AN: The song is "Once Upon A December" from the animated movie from Fox Pictures "Anastasia")**

"Dancing bears  
>Painted wings<br>Things I almost remember,  
>And a song someone sings<br>Once upon a December

Someone holds me safe and warm,  
>Horses prance through a silver storm,<br>Figures dancing gracefully,  
>Across my memory,<p>

Someone holds me safe and warm,  
>Horses prance through a silver storm,<br>Figures dancing gracefully,  
>Across my memory,<p>

Far away, long ago  
>Growing dim as an ember<br>Things my heart used to know,  
>Things it yearns to remember<p>

And a song someone sings  
>Once upon a December..."<p>

Hikari let sleep take her, and slowly closed her eyes. Naruto kissed both her eyes before turning off of the lights.

"Good night, my little light in the sky." The group made their way down to the living room quietly, not wanting to disturb the moment. Naruto slowly joined them and made his way to the kitchen and set the kettle to boil.

"Do you prefer tea or coffee?" he asked, not once turning to address them.

"coffee"

"coffee"

"tea please"

"Some Jasmine if you have it"

"I'm fine"

"S-some green tea p-please"

"just water"

"I'm good"

Naruto just nodded an affirmative. He set to cleaning the dishes, tying his hair into a low ponytail much like Jiraiya, though unlike the Sannin, Naruto's hair wasn't nearly as mangy, and made a somewhat spiky ponytail. The uncomfortable silence progressed onwards for several minutes before Kakashi spoke.

"Naruto, we came to bring you back home." Naruto visibly stiffened before resuming to clean a pot in the sink.

"I am home" he replied without emotion.

"Naruto, we're bringing you back to Konoha. Remember, your home?" Sasuke said. Naruto chuckled.

"How ironic, that now they sent you to bring ME back, isn't it Uchiha?" Naruto replied coldly.

"Look, Naruto, I'm sorry, I wasn't in the right state of mind-"

"Oh were you now?"

"Dammit Naruto, I'm trying to make amends!"

"Good for you." The silence resumed. The kettle whistled, and Naruto went over to make everyone's drinks.

"What happened to you Naruto?" Sakura asked.

***CRASH***

Everyone jumped as Naruto threw the kettle into the wall, splashing hot water everywhere and breaking it into a hundred pieces. "What. Happened?" He seethed, not once looking at them."I'll tell you what happened. I served Konoha just like a good little shinobi. I followed my orders. Did what I was told. Fought for my home! What does that get me! Thrown into a prison cell to rot! I thought it must have been some mistake, I mean, sure, I wasn't the model shinobi. Pulled the occasional prank and what not. Played the role of village scapegoat. Oh, how naive I was. That was, until they showed me that the very woman I looked up to like a mother, had written me off to die."

"What do you mean Naruto?" Kurenai asked.

"Hmph, figures the old hag would send you here with only half of the info." He chuckled without any humor. "Article 58B clause 65 sub paragraph E. I, Tsunade Senju, hereby authorize use of protocol 87 APLHA on Naruto Uzumaki to better aid the defense of the Land of Fire from threats within and without. Ring a bell, Kakashi?" Everyone turned to a paling Kakashi.

"Kakashi-san? What is Naruto-kun talking about?" Hinata asked.

"No...It...it can't be...It had to be a mistake..." Kakashi mumbled.

"Oh, it was no mistake Kakashi. The old hag had put her chakra signature on it. Well, since you seem to be so hesitant to talk about it, let me elaborate. You see, during the First Shinobi World War, Konoha was low on troops, and there weren't enough volunteers to fill the ranks. So the Hokage enacted protocol 87 APLHA. It entitled the country to seize able bodied citizens from ages six and up, and train them. The procedure involved making them resistant to physical and psychological torture. As well as desensitizing them to violence and stripping them of free will. All in order to make the model shinobi." Naruto said sarcastically. "Of course, after the war it was never practiced again since the methods were deemed inhumane, but that didn't stop Danzo or Tsunade, did it?"

"Danzo?"

"Oh, come off it Haruno, did you really think I'd let the bastard die so painlessly? After all he did, oh no, I made sure to keep him alive for a week, just barely. I was able to get Hikari out of there before the sick bastards could do anything to her, but there is no way in hell am I going back there." He paused to check the clock. "While I am grateful that you helped me, I will only allow you to stay the night. In the morning, I expect you gone. Good night." and with that, he left the group to brood over this revelation.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it ended on a sour note, but did you really expect Naruto to just go back happily after all the time he's avoided Konoha? I'm still working on my action scenes and I hope this one is at least passable. Reviews are encouraged, and please no flames!<br>**


	4. Alone

**The group has reunited with Naruto, but are confronted with more questions than answers over his disappearance. Are the actions of Tsunade really the cause of Naruto's current state, or something more sinister in the shadows? Read on to find out!**

**NOTE: I forgot to give a description of the jutsu Naruto used last chapter, so here:**

****Burēdo Mikadzuki****

****class: S****

****Affinity: Wind****

**Effect: Creates a large crescent of wind chakra that cuts through most substances with ease. Has a weak target tracking ability. Warning: reacts explosively against fire jutsu.**

**Description: Much debate has been over whether or not this should be classified as a jutsu at all since it just uses chakra manipulation as a basis. Though from what little intel that has been gathered about the attack, all attempts at recreating it have ended in failures, the majority fatal causing an uncontrollable gale of invisible blades to shred the user, suggesting something else is required to pull off the move. So far, the only person able to use it is Naruto.**

**Also, for those readers curious about who Hikari's mother is, she is mentioned in the later chapters and mainly through flashbacks at the beginning of each chapter. **

**Man, if i make Hikari any sweeter I'm gonna have cavities...**

**I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

><p>The group found out that the confines of the house had changed to accommodate them, giving each of them a room with a bed and bathroom and shower. None had moved from thier spots. A depressing aura settling over the group. Each couldn't believe what Naruto had said. Could Tsunade really have done that? It didn't seem possible coming from the old Senju, who had grieved for a good two months over Naruto's "death". Coupled with the knowledge that due to their village's actions that their friends life was constantly ticking away was too much.<p>

_"_What are we gonna do now?" Sakura asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We're going to bring him back! The dobe is bieng stubborn over a misunderstanding." Sasuke retorted. "Tsunade practically thinks of him as her son! Do you think she would do that? Hell no. I say fuck it, and tie him up and drag him and his daughter back home." Shikamaru sighed.

"You don't get it, do you Uchiha?" Shikamaru sighed. At seeing Sasuke's confused look, he elaborated. "Naruto is testing us right now. Who's to say that he doesn't have this place armed to the teeth with security systems or fail safes? No, the only reason that he even let us stay the night was to use us as guinea pigs."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"What I mean is that we are the grading bar, or a country representative so to speak. If we attempt to force Naruto to come back, he will have solidifed it in his mind that we only see him as a weapon. Thus, ruining any chance we have of him coming back home. No, our best bet is to convice him to let one of us stay here for a short while, preferably Iruka or Hinata seeing as how they have the best standing with him currently, while we go back to see if what Naruto said really happened."

"W-what if N-Naruto-kun was right?" Hinata asked fearfully. Shikamaru sighed.

"I don't know, Hinata. I don't know..."

"Shikamaru's right, for now, everyone go rest, we'll talk to Naruto about this in the morning." Kakashi ordered, and with that, everyone went off to their respective rooms.

* * *

><p><em>dammit Dammit DAMMIT!<em> Kakashi mentally berated himself as he pounded away at the wall. He didn't care if the wall remained unchanged from his blows. He didn't care that his knuckles were bleeding. How could he have failed his Sensei? How could he have failed NARUTO? If he had arrived a few seconds faster at the scene, had he more of Gai's speed, maybe he could have averted this whole situation.

_What could you have done once you found him though? Ran away? He was imprisoned by order of the Hokage and Council. _A black voice whispered in the back of his head.

_I would have done SOMETHING! Sensei always said "Those who disregard the rules are scum. Those who abandon thier comrades are worse then scum!" If needed, I would have taken him away!_ He replied furiously.

_Ah, but what then? From what Sasuke recalls, his right lung was pierced, that, coupled with a severed left arm and chakra exhaustion would require professional medical aid to ensure survival. You are no medic nin. Would you watch helplessly while the life slowly ebbed out of him?_

_I-I don't know...But I would have done SOMETHING!_ Kakashi went to his bed to try to sleep, though to no avail as his inner thoughts were in turmoil.

* * *

><p>Hinata tossed and turned in bed, sleep would not claim her tonight. Her love, her object of affection, was alive! Yet, why did he seem so far away? Her heart ached when she saw him, trembling with pain and anger. Right then, he seemed so...fragile. For a man who was her pillar of strength, unwavering in his determination, it was scary. She wanted nothing more than to embrace him, comfort him, and protect him. But, why hadn't she?<p>

...She was afraid...

She was afraid. She was afraid that he abhorred her as well as the rest of the village. Afraid that he may reject her affections.

_Your father was right, you are weak..._a little black voice in the back of her head whispered.

_No! I'm not weak! _She got up and left her room, seeing it pointless to stay in bed since there would be no way she would sleep tonight, despite her exhaustion. She wandered into the living, finding some comfort in the soft leather of the couch. She gazed out the window to see the calm sea, a full moon in all its splendor bathing the house in its light. She idly wondered were the house was located before she heard a faint sound upstairs.

Curiosity guiding her, she slowly and silently ascended the stairs. As she reached the second floor, she stopped, unsure of were to go. Then she heard it again, coming from the end of the hallway. The second door from the last to the left was left open, a faint light illuminating from the doorway.

Using the moonlight flowing in from the windows to her right to guide her footsteps, she made her way there slowly but surely. She peered around the side of the door frame. The room seemed to be a workshop, with ninja equipment stored here. Racks of assorted Kunai and Shuriken decorated the walls, high enough to be out of reach of a certain little five year old. Glass cabinets filled with sealing scrolls and exploding tags occupied the far right wall. Above it was a locked wooden cabinet that, judging from the glass 'door', contained an assortment of vials and sealed jars. Drawers filled with spare Chakra armor parts resided in the far wall opposite of the doorway. To the left lay a workbench currently occupied by Naruto who was busy running repairs on his detached chakra armor prosthetic. Hinata thought it was cute how his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"Stupid...*mumble mumble*...shark face...*mumble*...stubborn ass-Dammit! Where'd that coupling go?" Naruto muttered, cursing under his breath as he searched the room for the piece. Hinata found said part laying near her foot.

"N-Naruto-kun, is th-this wh-what you're looking for?" Hinata asked holding out the little piece, cursing herself inwardly for her stuttering, she thought she had gotten rid of that long ago. Naruto looked at her, a small smile gracing his lips that made her melt inside from its warmth.

"Thank you Hinata-chan." he replied, taking the piece and resuming to work on fixing his arm.

"Sh-Shouldn't you be resting N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, uncomfortable in the silence. Naruto chuckled without mirth.

"These days I hardly sleep much, less I remember..."

"O-oh, I'm s-sorry" Hinata mentally berated herself for making the conversation take a morbid turn. Naruto shook his head.

"It's okay Hinata-chan, you didn't know." with that said he went back to work.

*click click*

"..."

*chik-cha*

"..."

*click chik-chi* **(AN: I know, the sound effects suck, but how would you write the sound of a screw turning?)**

"I-if you want Naruto-kun, I co-could help?" Hinata offered. Naruto smiled softly.

"Thanks Hinata-chan, could you hand me that part over there?" He pointed to one of the drawers. Hinata nodded and gave him said piece. For several minutes things went like this, Hinata offering the occasional assistance, helping screw a piece in, swapping parts. And even though not much was said, Hinata wouldn't trade this moment for anything. Just being there with him, made her heart soar.

"Annnd, we're done!" Naruto said picking up the prosthetic and attaching it to his left shoulder. The Chakra gems faintly glowed to life, and after Naruto tested it's movement, deemed it satisfactory. Hinata was silently sad, wishing to spend more time with him. Though she was stirred from her thoughts when she felt something crawling up her pant leg. She looked down to see some obscure, eight legged creature crawling up her leg to the desk.

"EEEEP!" Hinata shrieked and wrapped her arms around Naruto without thinking. Naruto chuckled.

"Relax Hinata-chan, they don't bite." Naruto replied. The thing crawled into the lamplight, revealing it to be a construct of chakra armor, its body consisting of a single sphere like chakra crystal, two of its eight legs were cradling a scroll with the Spring Daimyo's emblem. Naruto unfurled it and skimmed over its contents. After finishing he let out a sigh. "Good, it seems most of the civilians left due to the genjutsu before the fighting started. That's a relief." Naruto sighed. It was then that Hinata noticed Naruto's state of dress, or rather lack of it. The only clothing he wore was some grey sweats, leaving his upper body in all its glory to be seen, of course that which was not covered by bandages. Hinata felt her face growing a flush crimson, and struggled not to faint and backed away quickly only to stumble.

"eep!"

Hinata fell backwards only to feel two strong arms envelope her and support her. Her face was mere milimeters away from Naruto who grinned in amusement.

"Careful there Hinata-chan, I don't want you fainting on me." he teased, bringing her back up to stand on her own. The moment was brought to an end as they heard stiffled cries coming from the hallway. Both turned to see Hikari clad in her pajamas clutching her plush fox in a loose grip, sobbing.

"DADDY!" She wailed and ran up to her father, who picked her up and cradled her to his chest.

"Whats wrong honey?" Naruto asked, cradling his daughter as she cried into his chest.

"*HIC* I-I had a *HIC* nightmare. I had a nightmare that you d-died and I-I *HIC* was all alone!" She sobbed. Naruto rocked her gently in his arms.

"Shush, it's okay baby, I'm here, it was just a bad dream." he cooed. Hinata's heart tore at the scene. It wasn't a bad dream. Hikari's father, the man she loved, was slowly dying, and soon the nightmare would be a reality. Hikari calmed down, and noticed Hinata as if for the first time.

"Oh, hi, miss Hine-Hini-Hen-" The little girl struggled to remember her name. Naruto chuckled.

"It's Hinata Hyuga. But you can just call me Hinata." She said. Hikari's eyes widened.

"Your one of daddy's friends when he was with those bad leaf men?" she asked. Hinata flinched at the painful reminder that her village was the reason for Naruto's condition.

"That's right. We were friends in the academy. He was my role model." Hinata replied, her sad tone at the word 'friends' completely missed by the little girl.

"Cool! My dad!"

"Yup, now time for bed squirt!" Naruto said as he hefted her over his shoulder. Hikari whined, begging for a few more minutes. "I'll sing you another song." Instantly Hikari became quiet and jumped off her dad and ran to her room and snuggled herself in her bed in a cocoon of covers, with just her head popping out. Though Hinata could hardly blame her, as she too loved the sound of his voice, and stood in the doorway to listen.

"Can you sing me that new song daddy?" Hikari asked, making a cute pleading face towards her father. Naruto chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Are you sure? I'm still working on it..."

"Yup! It's already perfect!" Naruto sighed and got up to retrieve the acoustic guitar that lay in the corner of the room, and strummed it a few times. "Okay, well, here goes..."

**(The following song is "Paradise" from Cold Play)**

"When she was just a girl,

She expected the world,

But it flew away from her reach so,

She ran away in her sleep,

and dreamed of

Para-para-paradise,

Para-para-paradise,

Every time she closed her eyes...

When she was just a girl,

She expected the world,

But it flew away from her reach,

and the bullet catch in her teeth,

Life goes on, it gets so heavy,

The wheel breaks the butterfly,

Every tear a waterfall,

In the night the stormy night she'll close her eyes,

In the night the stormy night away she'd fly...

and dreams of

Para-para-paradise,

Para-para-paradise,

Para-para-paradise,

Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh-oh,

La-la-la-la-la-la-la,

La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la,

And so lying underneath those stormy skies,

She'd say, "Oh, ohohohoh I know the sun must set to rise,"

This could be,

Para-para-paradise,

Para-para-paradise,

This could be,

Para-para-paradise,

Para-para-paradise,

This could be,

Para-para-paradise,

Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh-oh..."

Mid way through the song Hikari's eyes had drifted asleep. Naruto gently lay the guitar next to the bed stand and kissed Hikari goodnight.

"Sweet dreams..." He whispered. As he stood up Hinata hurriedly brushed away the tears in her eyes. The song was beautiful. She could simply not describe it in any other way. Though despite its beautiful melody, something about it, something sad, made her want to cry...

Naruto took her hand as he led her out of Hikari's room.

"Come on, i have something to show you." Naruto said as he ushered her back to the first floor down the steps. Hinata felt her heart leap into her throat as she held his hand.

_How-how can he do this to me? Send my heart in a state of bliss from a simple smile? Does he know it?_

She was brought from her musings as they approached one of the walls of the living room. "Um, I don't see anything N-naruto-kun." Hinata stated. Naruto merely grinned and placed his palm against the wall, numerous seals becoming visible before fading away to reveal a glass sliding door leading out to a beach.

"Look underneath the underneath. Now, Miss. Hyuga, would you kindly join me for a stroll?" Naruto said with an over lavish bow, hand extended towards her. Hinata stifled a giggle at Naruto's antics. Despite all that had happened to him, some of his old self was still in there.

"Why, yes, I'd be glad to." Hinata said in a pompous noble way and placed her hand in his. They both grinned as they walked towards the "shoreline." The scene took Hinata's breath away. The moon was so magnificent, so, pure. The moon was so bright that it bathed everything in a pale eggshell blue. The sand was a fine grain that felt smooth against her bare feet, and was neither too cold nor hot. It gave that feeling of comfort you feel when you wake up on a weekend and just lay in the softness of your covers. She wondered how such a heaven on earth existed without anyone knowing.

"Naruto, where are we." She asked after a pleasant walk.

"Nowhere." He replied, kneeling down to hold a hermit crab.

"Huh?" she replied. He took her hand and put the hermit crab in her grasp. She looked at the little creature, something seeming odd about it to her. She then noticed the finely interwoven links of chakra armor, and the glowing chakra crystals for eyes. No, it couldn't be? Could it?

"I made this. This place, is my little haven for Hikari. It exists nowhere and everywhere." Naruto said, sweeping his arm to aross the whole beautiful landscape.

"What do you mean?"

"This whole place, this whole world, if you will, is artificial, made from inter lapping seals which occupy space yet don't exist at all. I wanted Hikari to grow up in a place that no matter how cruel or corrupt the outside world becomes, she will always have this little haven to call home." Naruto replied, absentmindedly petting a chakra armor crab that came up to him when he sat down. Hinata felt her heart clench painfully at the unsaid words.

_So that, even when I'm gone, she can be safe..._

Hinata sat down beside him and leaned on his shoulder, taking comfort in his warmth and presence. "You don't have to go through it alone, Naruto-kun."

"...what do you mean?" he replied. Hinata hugged his arm and drew him to her side.

"You try to shoulder everything alone. Raising Hikari. This pain. Fighting for her to be happy. We're your friends Naruto-kun, even if you don't think so anymore. We still care about you. I care about you. So much. But we can't help if you don't let us in. Let us help. Let me in, let me shoulder your pain, please Naruto-kun." She softly pleaded. Naruto looked at her sadly.

"I wonder, what did I ever do to gain the affections from one so beautiful as Konoha's Lavender Maiden." He replied sadly, twirling a strand of her silky hair between his fingers. Hinata blushed considerably at being referred to beautiful. She snuggled into his shoulder, sighing contently.

"That's because when I thought myself useless and weak, you were the only one to support me, to tell me I truly was strong when I believed otherwise. You were the first to show me kindness regardless of my standing." She replied. Naruto sighed sadly.

"I, I just don't know Hinata-chan, I-" She stopped him mid sentence as she embraced him, head tucked into his chest, her body quivering slightly.

"Let me in. Please Naruto-kun. These seven years when everyone thought you were dead, I felt dead inside, it felt like someone had ripped my heart out of my chest. Please, don't push me away..." She whispered. Her fear grew as the silence stretched, though dissapated as she felt Naruto's arms wrap around her in a loving embrace and his head rest atop hers.

"I really don't deserve such a wonderful woman like you..." He whispered. Hinata smiled.

"You don't know how wrong you are..."

* * *

><p>The groups trudged in slowly into the dining room adjacent to the kitchen, most had little if any sleep throughout the night. Hell, Gai seemed normal, that should tell you just how bad everything was! Though, Hinata seemed to be in better spirits then last night Kakashi noticed as he looked over the group. The gentle sound of the ocean waves, coupled with the soft sounds of sea birds created a peacefull melody, the brilliant sunlight illuminating the room making the morning complete. The group noticed Naruto already awake, making breakfast. There were thirteen plates set up on the cherry wood table, one for each of them. There were already several large plates in the middle containing an assortment of fruits, bacon, eggs, pancakes, crepes, and other assorted breakfast foods. There were several pitchers of iced water, orange juice, and apple juice.<p>

"I'm finishing the sasuages right now. Coffee's in the pot if you want any, milk and creme are in the fridge." Naruto addressed them, not once turning to great them, idly whistling a tune. The fact that he seemed to calm down from last night seemed to ease everyone's nerves, and make them somewhat suspicious. Sasuke in particular, who hadn't taken his eyes off of Naruto.

"Teme, it's not poisoned if that's what you were thinking." Naruto replied. Everyone's jaws dropped, well, except for Hinata and Sasuke, the latter of which merely smirked.

"It's good to see the dobe's still in there." he replied.

"Hn..." A comfortable silence ensued as the group digged in to the free meal, amazed at how delicious it was. The food almost felt like it had melted their taste buds. Who knew Naurto would turn out to be such a good cook?

"*Yawn* Daddy?..." Everyone turned to see Hikari still in her pajamas, her blonde hair undone from thier pigtails and slightly frazzled. She held her fox toy in her left hand lazily, dragging it on the floor by its tail. She rubbed at her sleepy eyes cutely. Naruto set aside the skillet, seeing as he had already dumped the cooked sasuages onto a plate on the table, and walked over to his daughter.

"Hey sweety, have a good sleep?" Hikari nodded and raised her arms in a childish 'hold me' way. Naruto picked her up and set her down in one of the empty seats. Everyone sighed at the cute father-daughter scene. "Here you are honey." naruto said as he brought over a glass of orange juice and a plate of pankakes shaped like a toads head, slices of strawberries and kiwis to make the eyes with a sliced bannana to make the mouth. Only after doing so did he sit down along with the rest of them, nursing a cup of black coffee in his left hand. Breakfast progressed like this for a while until Hikari slowly lost her drwosiness and realized who else was at the table.

"Oh! Good morning!" She replied cutely, everyone replied in kind. Her gaze settled on Sasuke. "Oh, I'm sorry I punched you in the nuts Mr. Duckbut." Anyone who was eating or drinking at the time found themselves choking and/or doing a spit take. Hinata stifled a giggle at Hikari's nickname for the Uchiha. Naruto seemed unfazed though and contently sipped his coffee.

"That's my girl..."

"DOBE! WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN TEACHING HER?" Sasuke yelled. Naruto chuckled.

"Nothing, nothing, so, when do we meet the old hag?" He waved dismissively. The silence that followed made it possible for a person to hear the sound of dust bunnies hitting the ground.

"EEEHHHHH?"

Sakura was the first to recover.

"Naruto, you're coming home-?" Naruto held up his hand to silence her.

"No, Ms. Haruno. I'm just paying a visit so I can bop the old Hag to relieve some stress. After I hear her reasons, and whether or not I decide to kill her, then I will decide. Hikari, your gonna be visiting Auntie Koyuki while Daddy bops some heads in."

"Yay!" Hikari ran around the living room. "I gonna see auntie Koyuki!" The group couldn't help but shiver at the sadistic smile that graced Naruto's face.

* * *

><p>The group waited uneasily as Naruto went to go drop off little Hikari. Naruto wouldn't really kill Tsunade, would he? And if he still hated her after all these years, how would he react once he saw Kushina and Tsuki? Kakashi's mind was running a mile a minute, trying to find a way to prevent the worst case scenario. They couldn't send a person beforehand, seeing as how Hinata found out the entire construct was encoded only to him and his daughter. He couldn't contact Tsunade either.<p>

_crap Crap CRAP! Come on, think! There has to be a way to settle this peacefully!_ Even Shikamaru was drawing up a blank on ideas. The sound of a door opening alerted them that their time just ran out. Naruto came back through a door that popped out a wall. Unlike in the land of Spring, Naruto was dressed for war. He wore a skintight sleeveless black shirt that extended into a mask very much like Kakashi's. He wore black loose cargo pants and ninja boots that stopped before the knee. His belt had various sized weapon pouches and scroll holders. His tanto, NULL, was on shoulder holster on his left. He wore a black finger-less glove on his right that ended midway up his bicep, and had interlocking gray metal plates outlined with red paint. All in all he was fearsome and threatening, embodying the concept of a missing nin.

"Are you all ready?" He asked, his voice as cold as tempered steel. They all nodded.

"Wait!"

Naruto paused mid motion of opening up the gate, and turned back to Kakashi. "Naruto, why don't one of us go first? You know, to let all of your friends know your back?" Kakashi attempted in a lame excuse. Naruto shook his head.

"No. Either we all head there, or you all leave." He replied. Kakashi slumped in defeat and nodded. Naruto turned and opened the door and lead them through, revealing them to be in the waiting room of the Hokage's office. As the door shut it faded from view. Naruto walked on, ignoring Shizune's shocked and frightened look. He kicked open the doors before she could collect her thoughts and greet him.

"GODDAMMIT SHIZUNE! I TOLD YOU I'M NOT SEEING ANYONE ELSE TO-" Tsunade yelled, but gaped like a fish at who she saw. She slowly rose up from her desk, her eyes watering as she walked over to Naruto, hand reaching towards his face. "N-Naruto? I-is that you-"

She never got a chance to finish, as his chakra armored hand slammed into her face with extreme prejudice, sending her flying out the wall of the Hokage tower into the roof of a nearby house. Only her skills as a superb medic prevented any serious damage done. "N-Naruto?" She asked disbelievingly as she held her bruising cheek. Naruto jumped from the opening of the tower, warning sirens blaring as ANBU were called in. He walked slowly, a sense of barely held in rage flooding all of Konohagakure, freezing the majority of the populace in absolute fear. It was like the Kyuubi all over again. No, scratch that, it was a hundred times worse. Images of the village razed to a ground flashed through the eye's of all those affected.

"Old hag." He stated, his pupils turning into slits, his eyes a frosty blue, his voice colder than the ninth circle of hell. "Article 58B clause 65 sub paragraph E. Protocol 87 ALPHA. Ring any bells?" he spat.

* * *

><p><strong>I'M SORRY FOR THE CLIFFHANGER! IT JUST HAD TO BE DONE! There's not much action in this chapter seeing as how it was mainly aimed at furthering Naruto and Hinata's relationship, so in other words mainly just fluff. The next chapter will reveal just what was done to Naruto when under protocol 87 ALPHA, and what he has become because of it.<strong>** Reviews are encouraged, and please no flames!**


	5. Did I matter?

**What may have been a violent reunion has turned into all out combat! Will Konoha stand up against Naruto's wrath? Is Tsunade really guilty? Read on to find out! reviews are encouraged, and please no flames!**

**NOTE! Since the winter quarter is ending soon this may be my only update in a while for the next three weeks. I will try to fit in chapters during that time frame, but it will be highly unlikely seeing as I'm overdue on updates to my other three stories, and the fact that finals are near. I'm sorry, but frankly finals are a little higher on my priority list than my fanfics. But on the bright side, I've decided to give you guys a long chapter to make up for the wait to come. Hope you enjoy.**

**I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

><p>Kushina had taken up on looking through the old photo albums in their house to help pass the time while she waited for the team to return with her son. The first two days she had spent fretting over every little thing and hardly got any sleep. She had found the box of photo albums when she was cleaning the closet one day, and while the memories were often painful, they were a method of passing the time. Tsuki was coping with the wait in her own way, if increased nervousness and committing genocide on dust bunnies can be called a coping mechanism. Tsuki was making the entire Namikaze estate spick and span, not a single spot left untouched. When she was not cleaning, she was throwing herself into her training, not haven taken any missions in the past few days so that she could be here to meet her big brother when he came.<p>

Currently Tsuki was practicing her Taijutsu on several practice dummies in the backyard. The thumping of her fists and feet against the wooden dummy's resounding throughout the estate. Kushina, meanwhile sat on one of the chairs that occupied the wooden patio overlooking the yard. It turns out Sarutobi and Iruka had taken to making a photo album of Naruto growing up and all of his accomplishments. Tsunade had found it one day in the office after going through all the paperwork in her cabinets. She gave it to her on the second day since the Naruto retrieval team's departure. Yet, despite the fact that her son was smiling in all of the pictures, she felt a pain twist in her chest, as cold as steel. It was a reminder of all the things that she wasn't there for him.

She wasn't there for his first day of school. She wasn't there when he became a genin. The list went on and on. She just hoped that when he came back that she could make amends. A few stray tears made their way to the album, before Kushina hastily wiped them away. Tsuki by now had long finished her training and had come to stand over her to see the pictures for herself.

"I can't believe Onii-chan after all this time was still alive." She whispered, hugging her mother. Kushina patted one of her arms absentmindedly.

"And soon, he'll be home. We'll do things just like a family, see movies, go to festivals-" Kushina was cut off as they could hear klaxons off in the far distance coming from the Hokage tower. On cue, an ANBU appeared kneeling before them.

"Uzumaki-sama, I have orders to ensure your safety and urge you to take shelter." The ox masked ANBU declared.

"What's happening?" Kaushina asked.

"There has been an attack on the tower targeting the Hokage. There are no civilian casualties so far and the surrounding area has been evacuated. ANBU are currently moving in to support Hokage-sama."

"How could an entire ninja force make its way undetected that far?" Tsuki pondered out loud.

"You are mistaken, Uzumaki-san. It is a sole assailant, a shinobi, though from where we cannot say."

"It is most likely an assasin then. Come, Tsuki. We best deal with the pest before your brother comes home. Can't really roll out the welcome mat with a party crasher now can we?" Kushina said as she went in the house to gather her equipment, Tsuki soon following suit. Kushina donned a black body suit with red streaks, a jounin vest, and shinobi sandals. On her waist lay strapped a beautiful katana, and several weapon pouches. Tsuki put on her chunin outfit and a wakizashi in a red sheath. They made their way to the gates, only to be stopped by the ANBU.

"Uzumaki-sama, I have orders to keep you both safe." He stated. Kushina smiled before walking past him.

"Well then, you better come with us, wouldn't want to defy orders now would we?" She smiled before dashing off, soon to be followed by Tsuki. The ANBU fumbled for a reply, only to sigh in defeat and follow.

* * *

><p>He never meant for things to turn out like this. Sure, he wasn't going to make it easy on the old hag, sure. He came here for closure, to know why she had signed him off to become no more than a weapon. But not this. But when he saw her, on her normal drinking binge, acting lazy like he remembered, it was like something snapped. As if those three years of hell didn't matter a damn thing to her...<p>

...After that, everything went red...

* * *

><p><em>*drip*<em>

_..._

_*drip*_

_..._

_*drip*_

_..._

_*drip*_

_...How long had he been here? He couldn't tell if it was day or night, the room he was confined to devoid of any windows. The guards would constantly wake him up during odd hours. He couldn't even remember the last time he slept a good nights rest, or would it be good day's? He didn't remember._

_*drip*_

_..._

_*drip*_

_..._

_*drip*_

_...It was funny, he was starting to look like Gaara, with dark rings forming around his eyes. Maybe this was what he felt like..._

_...He didn't know, he couldn't really ask him..._

_*drip*_

_..._

_*drip*_

_...He could hear the keys rattle on the other side of the door. It was the guard, along with the old man and two ROOT. The place was so quiet that he could tell their steps a mile away. Would it be a mile? How long was a mile? He found himself forgetting things more often, and tried to keep them for as long as he could. The walls were covered with writings of odd things, fruits of his efforts to chronicle his mind before it left his grasp._

_"...Ino doesn't like it when you tease her by calling her pig..."_

_"...Kakashi likes to read Icha Icha paradise..."_

_"...Sasuske is a teme..."_

_"...Ichiraku ramen is the best..."_

_"...Hinata's nice...shy, but nice..."_

_...it went on like this, in no order whatsoever. The men had already come into his cell. He stood up and stared at them. He wouldn't bow like a dog, he wouldn't be broken. The old man grunted, and the ROOT to his right punched him in the gut repeatedly for several seconds, knocking the wind out of him. He doubled over in pain, all that he could do with his chakra surpressed._

_"Seems like you still have some defiance in you. We should get rid of that soon." The old man says. He spits in his face from his prone position. The man sneers angrily. He gestures to the ROOT nin, who drags him by his hair outside his cell into a room with a monitor. The ROOT nin kneeled down and forced him to look into the screen..._

_It showed a buxom blonde laughing with friends at a bar, tossing back jokes and having idle conversation..._

_"How does it feel?" The old man whispered into his ear. "How does it feel, knowing that the very mother figure of your life signed you off to this little hell? You see? She doesn't give a damn about you. No one really does, to them, you're just a ticking time bomb, waiting to-" he turned around and viciously headbutted the old man, splitting the skin on his wrinkled forehead, blood seeping into his good eye._

_"You fucking brat! Ten hours disciplinary treatment. Don't even stop if he begs." The man snarled to the other ROOT, leaving the room. The ROOT nin stepped behind him, though he could hear the telltale buzz of a lightning jutsu. For the next ten hours he would scream in pain, the screen playing on a loop of Tsunade's laughing face..._

_...They dumped him in his cell, his back scarred heavily, with no treatment whatsoever. he would lay there until he awoke when the pain dragged him from unconciousness...waiting for it to start all over again..._

_*drip*_

_..._

_*drip*_

_..._

_*drip*_

* * *

><p>(Bleach OST: Treachery -start)<p>

He held up a worn and crying Tsunade by her neck, her hands scrabbling futilely against his chakra armor prosthetic.

"I-I told you! I-I d-don't know what your talking about!" Tsunade choked, tears streaming down her cheeks. How did things turn out this way? How did all take a turn for the worst?

"DON'T FUCK WITH ME!" He snarled, tightening his grip ever so slightly. "Seven years ago, three days after that battle, you signed me off to a life of hell!" He roared throwing her to the adjacent building, only for Jiraiya to intervene and catch her in mid air. He gently set her back on her feet, his face devoid of any of its usual mirth or humor. Seeing the woman you love get pounded into a pulp can do that to you.

"What the hell have you done with Naruto?" He yelled. Naruto chuckled humorlessly.

"What do you mean Ero-sennin? I am Naruto." he replied.

"Don't bullshit me!My the student, the Naruto I knew would never dare think of hurting Tsunade!" Jiraiya snapped back. Naruto merely laughed. It was unsettling to hear, it's usual warmth tainted by something...sinister...

"I guess you just don't know me that well, do you? You shitty excuse for a God father..." Naruto sneered. Jiraiya gaped in shock. He had never once told him that!

"H-how did you-?"

Naruto cackled. "Wouldn't you like to know? Why don't you ask the bitch?" He said, jerking his head in the direction of the barely standing Tsunade.

* * *

><p><em>"No ones coming to save you boy."<em>

_His mouth tasted of copper as the blood flowed. He spat out blood as he tired to get rid of the taste. He couldn't tell how long he lay hanging here. His writs had started bleeding from the ministrations of the rough shackles that bound him. Though those were the least of his worries. One of his "attendants" was busy at the moment painting surgical instruments with his blood._

_"You're...you're wrong..." He rasped with his parched throat. When was the last time something besides his blood had soothed his throat? A day? Maybe two? He couldn't remember. The "attendant" viciously twisted a serrated blade in his chest. He struggled to maintain consciousness, darkness ebbing away at his vision as he felt the painful process of his left lung knitting itself back together. It would go on like this, like the ticking of a clock, only stopping when he broke._

_...cut here..._

_...rend..._

_...rip that..._

_ For how long these ministration would continue, he could not tell. Only when his mind grew silent, when he couldn't feel nor see, would they stop. The old man shook his head, as if he was sadly dissapointed with him."My boy, you've been here for six months. They've forgotten about you, moved on. Even your godfather abandoned you from the start." He said, slapping a file on the workbench in front of him, showing a form for a legal guardian with Jiraiya's photo attached._

_...What? No, it couldn't be..._

_"You're lying..." _

_The old man shook his head. "I'm afraid not my boy. Jiraiya the sannin requested to be your god father to your parents. Unfortunately for you, he thought his spy network and peeping tendencies to be more important than the rearing of his god-child. Sad, yes. But this is reality, the quicker we break you from your naive concept of the world, the faster the pain will go away. Continue for three more hours. Make sure not to do any lasting damage." With that said, the man left, leaving the smiling picture of the sannin to stare at him during the attendant's ministrations, as if to mock him._

_...cut..._

_...rip..._

_...tear..._

* * *

><p>"Tsunade, what's he talking about?" Jiraiya asked.<p>

"I don't know, he-he just keeps repeating protocol 87 ALPHA. I thought the practice was stopped after the first Shinobi World War?" She responded.

"Don't you lie you old hag!" Naruto roared. "At first...I thought it was a mistake...that someday, you or Kakashi would come and get me out of there..." He replied, his voice dying down, pain evident in his eyes at the recollection. His body trembled. "Oh, how wrong I was...that bastard. He showed me the order. IT HAD YOUR FUCKING SIGNATURE! YOU AUTHORIZED IT!" He screamed.

"On who?" Tsunade asked confused. Naruto charged foward, chakra blades glowing with malignant energy.

"ON ME!"

* * *

><p>Kushina was making her way closer to the conflict, Tsuki and the ANBU right behind her. In mid leap between buildings the group was thrown to the floor from a massive explosion that rocked the site of the conflict.<p>

"Shit" she cursed, picking a fragment of roof work out of her left arm. This was just no run of the mill assassin, someone wanted Tsunade dead, bad. Without a moments hesitation they sped off again, now being joined by other ANBU and Jonin. She just hoped they weren't too late...

* * *

><p>The Naruto retrieval team sped off towards the site, rushing into action as soon as they recovered from their stupor at seeing the Hokage, one of the strongest women in the world, being smacked around like a rag doll by their old friend.<p>

"Dammit, Naruto wasn't kidding when he said he might kill her!" Kiba yelled over backwash of the explosion.

"Listen up! our focus is to neutralize Naruto and try to settle this peacefully! There has got to be a way we can resolve this!" Kakashi ordered, everyone nodded an affirmative.

"...he said he wouldn't..."

Everyone turned to the until now silent Hinata who was trembling.

"What do you mean Hinata?" Asked Ino.

"L-last night, I talked to Naruto, and convinced him to come back...he needed to get over this. He still wanted to know why Tsunade did that to him. He said that he may not stay depending on her answer, but he said h-he wouldn't do anything drastic...Something must be wrong for him to do this!" As if to support her statement, it was at this time that Shizune used the mechanical eight trigrams formation drum on the urging of the shinobi council to contain the threat. The tell tale earthen walls of the **Karakuri Hakke no Jin** encasing Konoha in a resolute labyrinth.

* * *

><p>"<strong>Doton: Yomi Numa!<strong>" Jiraiya yelled, flashing through the necessary hand signs, turning the ground in front of him to a murky swamp, catching Naruto in place. "Now lets talk this out peacefully Naruto." Jiraiya pleaded. Tsunade was frozen in shock. She knew all the horrors protocol 87 ALPHA entailed. How could that have happened to her Naruto, under her very watch? She felt horrible. Naruto struggled for a bit before smiling, freaking Jiraiya out.

"Missed me." and poofed out of existence. Jiraiya acted immediately and picked up Tsunade and dodged to the left as Naruto came crashing down with an axe kick that would have caved in his skull, creating a small crater.

"What's wrong _God-Father_? Is dealing with me not as important as peeping on women or writing your books?" He sneered, his eyes drowning in cold anger. His nine braids thrashed around like the tails of an angry beast, bladed ends creating deep gashes in the ground.

"Naruto! Listen!-"

"I'M DONE HEARING LIES!" Naruto roared. Two of the chakra blades separated into five jointed blades apiece, forming clawed metal hands. They flashed through hand signs at a rapid rate. "**Fūton: ****Kanashimi no ejji!"** Wind chakra coiled around his right arm, condensing into a visible form that encased his hand. The wind chakra stretched from his fingertips, forming two foot long talons. In an underhand swing that left deep gouges in the dirt he unleashed five blades of wind chakra that kissed the earth, speeding ever quickly towards the two sannin. Jiraiya sidestepped just in time, some of his hair nicked off as the blades cut through a building and three of the earthen impenetrable walls before stopping (well, used to be impenetrable.).

"Dammit Naruto! **Ranjishigami no Jutsu!**" Jiraiya's hair, elongating itself past normal proportions, sailed towards Naruto and bound him around the torso, and threw him through one of the adjacent buildings, caving in several of its walls. Given a momentary respite, Jiraiya tried to snap Tsunade out of her funk.

"Tsunade! Snap out of it!" He shook her, but she wouldn't even look at him as her body trembled.

"How...how could I have let him go through that...How could I have let that happen to him?..." She mumbled.

"Look at me!" Jiraiya yelled, yanking her face up to look him in the eyes. "You can mope around all you want later! After we stop Naruto! Then you'll knock some sense into him and have a 'happy family moment'! But first you gotta live through that!" Tsunade snapped out of it and smiled at him.

"Thanks you old pervert."

"Any time. But after this you owe me a date." He replied. Tsuande laughed and punched his shoulder jokingly.

"Persistent, like always." she chided. a rumbling underneath them shook them out of their banter as they quickly dodged in opposite directions.

"**Fūton: ****Ton'neringu kama-fū!**" and not a second to soon as Naruto erupted from the ground in a maneuver much like the **Gatsūga** of the Inuzuka, the only variation being that all nine of his chakra blades forming a spinning drill point. Though he did not have much time to pursue an attack as some of the Leaf ninja and ANBU had caught up to the scene.

"**Nikudan Sensha!**" Naruto was plowed to the side as Choza's enlarged spinning form collided into him.

"WAIT! Capture him alive! By no means is he to be killed!" Tsunade intervened, not wanting Naruto to be unwittingly killed by his former comrades in arms. Some of the Shinobi paused at this.

"Hokage-sama, are you sure? He tried to assasi-" a random chunin asked.

"Are you questioning my orders?" She replied icily. The man gulped.

"N-no Hokage-sama!" With that, the shinobi sped off, only to be confronted by an amazing sight. Naruto was holding off Choza with a single hand!

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" He roared, cocking his left fist back, piston extending from the elbow, only to bring it back to smack into Choza's still spinning form with a thunderous boom, sending the clan head flying through a store. Inoichi ran towards his comrade.

"Choza!" Naruto then turned towards the two sannin, only to stop suddenly.

"Big mistake." Shikaku said behind Naruto, their shadows joining. "Now be a good shinobi and stay there." Naruto smiled and replied in a single word that caused the Nara to dive for cover.

"Boom." Naruto violently exploded, blood and viscera painting the battlefield. A fleck of blood hit Tsunade on her cheek. She touched it and looked at her blood smeared fingers with horror. It was just like that time at the Valley of the End. Oh god, she could see it all. There was so much blood. And now, it was happening again. She cradled her hand and sobbed. This time it was real...

"No...Narutooo!" She cried. All the shinobi present gasped in shock. That was Naruto?

"Oh god..." Inoichi said in shock, realizing whose liver lay next to his feet.

"Why would he do that?" Shikaku asked. All were startled as they heard an odd clapping sound, and looked up to see Naruto sitting on a roof awning unscathed.

"What a wonderful performance. What's wrong old hag? Thought your secret weapon died? Sorry, I don't intend to be meeting Shinigami-san too soon." Naruto sneered. Inoichi gaped in shock.

"But, what was that?" He asked pointing towards the bloody mess. Naruto dropped down and walked towards his remains, idly picking up the severed head while twirling a kunai.

"You like it? I call it **Saigo Bunshin**. More draining than a shadow clone, but lasts longer, and dies more realistically."

"Why would you do something that sick?" Shikaku asked. Naruto visibly stopped before gripping his kunai in a reverse grip. He shrugged.

"You do something over and over again, and you get better at it. You could call a kill like having a conversation with Shinigami-san. Frightening, and it stays in your mind forever. Hell, me and him are close friends. Once you're like me and have to kill, whether it be man, woman, or child just to get through the day, you're just not quite sane at the end, right old hag?" He sneered at Tsunade, stabbing 'his' head to emphasize points of his speech. "Now, why won't you do me a favor and DIE?" he yelled, running towards her prone form.

* * *

><p>The marble floored hallways echoed with her footsteps. The large windows that graced the halls showed a beautiful scene, the tree's leaves fading to a gold hue. Soon, fall would come, with winter following close behind. She didn't mind the cold snows of winter, how could she? She grew up with them. It just made her appreciate the embrace of spring even more. Yet, despite the beautiful view, she couldn't help but worry over Naruto. Her men had arrived at the site after Naruto had disappeared, though not without leaving a bloody trail behind. Those few hours of not knowing kept her up at night. Her imagination had run rampant with various horrors Naruto could be going through and she couldn't do a thing. She remembered how she had cried with joy once he sent one of those chakra golems he had created informing her that he was fine and asked if anyone was hurt in the chaos.<p>

It was just like him to worry about others, even those he did not know. And while she was happy that he was safe, she could help but feel lonely with their absence. The small family had grown on her, Naruto becoming something like a little brother and Hikari a niece. She would have loved to have them come live with her in the palace. Maybe it was because she understood how it felt, being alone. Even now it was like she could hear Hikari playing in the halls.

"Weeeeee!"

Wait a second! That was Hikari! Did they decide to stay after all? She ran to her bedchamber to be greeted by the sight of Hikari wearing one of her movie costumes spinning in a chair.

"Weeeeee!"

"Hikari!" She said and ran up to the little girl and gave her a big hug. "It's so good to see you! Where's your dad?" She asked, looking around for Naruto. Hikari held up a letter.

"Daddy said he had to go bop some leaf heads and sent me to stay with you auntie Koyuki!" Hikari answered. "Daddy was gonna wait for you but one of the maids said you were gonna be busy so he left this for you." Koyuki looked oddly at the letter before opening it.

_Koyuki-chan_

_Sorry to spring this up on you, but you were right. My past is catching up with me. I have business in Fire Country at the moment to tie some loose ends, so I need you to watch over Hikari for me. Sorry that I'm always asking favors from you._

_Naruto_

Her hands trembled as she read the letter._ That...that...THAT IDIOT! What is he thinking? This cannot end well!_ Images of his rampage when a group of leaf nin came passing by a year ago had a member who was one of his"attendants" during his stay in hell sprung up in her mind. It had taken her and several of his friends to calm him down. They managed to pull of the deaths as an ambush from a group of missing nin. That wasn't what had scared her though, it was Naruto. He had acted as a completely different person...

"Hikari?" She asked, the little girl stooped swinging the chair and looked at her "foster" aunt.

"Yes Auntie Koyuki?"

"Do you still have the 'key' your daddy gave you?" Hikari nodded showed her palm towards the daimyo and channeled chakra through it, showing a complex weave of seal arrays.

"Yup! Why?"

"I was thinking we could go visit Yugito-san for a bit."

"Yugito-chan! Yeah! We haven't seen her in a loooong time! Come on lets go!" Hikari squeaked in glee, grabbing Koyuki's hand and dragging her through a "door" she made pop out of thin air using the seal. With no more than three steps did they arrive outside Yugito's apartment in Kumo. It was a decent sort, colored a soft brown and having an excellent view of the city. Koyuki didn't have time to pay attention to the view as she knocked without heed on the door, not caring if Yugito was busy or had company. Several angry stomps later a ticked off Yugito with bed hair yanked the door open.

"B! IF THIS IS ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR RAPPER GET TOGETHERS I SWEAR I'M GONNA RIP YOU A NEW ONE! DO YOU KNow what...time it is..." Yugito faltered at the sight of a frightened Hikari behind Koyuki.

"We-we're sorry Yugito-chan..." Hikari whispered fearfully. Right then Yugito felt like the biggest jerk on the planet.

"No no no, I'm sorry sweety, its just I was a little cranky from my nap." Yugito cooed as she hugged the little girl. Koyuki chuckled, the little girl could make a dictator go on his knees and beg for forgiveness with a single tear. Once this was done, Yugito led them into her place. It was relatively cozy and gave off a peaceful, lazy aura. Yugito gestured for them to sit on the couch before going into the kitchen. "So Hikari, where's your dad? I thought you two were gonna visit Gaara now that the movie's finished, oh, and thanks Koyuki-san for the premier tickets by the way." Yugito said from the kitchen, raiding through her fridge for something to drink besides milk. Koyuki got up and held out the letter Naruto gave her.

"That's what I thought as well since they had left after an incident with some foreign nin. But Naruto dropped little Hikari off at my place since he had _business _to attend to." She said, pressing the letter into her hands. Yugito looked confused but nonetheless read the letter. Comprehension dawned on her as she finished reading it. She looked up to Koyuki to confirm, who merely nodded.

"Hikari, why don't you watch T.V. for a bit? Koyuki-san and I have to get something." Yugito called. Hikari nodded and tuned the channel to one of the kid's shows while Yugito picked up a phone and rapidly tapped in a number.

...ring...

...ring...

"Yo! Whats up Miss Kitty? Still looking Pretty?"

"B. Emergency. Get over here. NOW." And with that Yugito hung up and led Koyuki out onto the veranda. Several moments later Killer B showed up, after which Yugito activated the privacy seals on the veranda, making it impossible for anyone to see them or snoop in on their conversation.

"Killer B here! Nothing to fear!" B shouted only to be whacked on the head by Yugito.

"Dammit B, now is not the time for one of your raps!" She yelled, annoyed by his habit. "Read this." She said, pushing Naruto's letter into his hands. B read it, and looked over it twice just to be sure.

"Naruto always in trouble, We better go Yugito on the double!" B rapped as he shook his head. Yugito nodded and walked towards the door back into her apartment. "Yeah, let me get my stuff first. WHY IS IT THAT MEN ALWAYS ACT SO STUPID?" She vented to no one in particular. Once inside she went over to Yugito who was busy watching one of her favorite cartoons.

"Hikari, sweety, Me and Mister B have to go do something reaally quick, but when we come back we'll bring your daddy with us so we can all have fun, kay?" Hikari didn't seem pleased with this and pouted.

"Bu-but! I just got to see you!" she whined.

"I know, but tell you what! Once we come back, I'll make you your favorite treat!" Yugito replied. Hikari's eyes shined with sparkles and her mouth watered a bit.

"Y-you mean?"

"Yup. I'll make my famous triple chocolate(White chocolate, Milk chocolate, and Dark chocolate) brownies, with strawberry and vanilla gelato and baked bananas**(AN: To any of you who have never tried something like this, it's fucking delicious)**." Yugito said, knowing she now had Hikari, hook, line, and sinker.

"OKAY!" Hikari nodded enthusiastically.

"There's just one thing..."

"What?" Hikari stopped. Yugito smiled slyly behind he hand as she looked in mock contemplation.

"Well, you see. The mission me and B have is aaaaall the way in fire country, and would take us four days to get there. However, if you were to, say, use one of your gate that your dad gave you, it would take an hour or two, maybe four tops." She baited. Hikari jumped up and puffed out her chest.

"SURE! But, I only know some towns near the border..." She replied. Yugito waved her hand dismissively.

"That's okay, as long as its in Fire country" Yugito said. "B! Get in here! We're going!" She hollered. B came in and gave little Hikari a mock salute which she giggled at. Hikari used the seal on her hand and made a "door" in the middle of the room.

"It goes to the outskirts of mun-oehan, three hours into Fire country from the Suna border."

"Thats great! We'll be back in a bit sweety!" With that set aside, the two Jinchuriki's walked through the gate, only to have it disappear behind them. Immediately they were assualted with the fragrances of the surrounding forest, the sun still high in the sky. Once Yugito had estimated Konoha's relative location, she sped off with B in tow. For a while neither spoke, too focused on helping their friend, unitl B brought up an interesting point.

"Yo, I don't mean to go off track, but how we supposed to get back?"

Yugito face-palmed.

* * *

><p>Jiraiya sped foward to meet Naruto head on with a ball of swirling chakra in hand. He plowed it straight into the blonde's chest, avoiding his punch by a few centimeters by his slightly longer reach.<p>

**"Rasengan!"** Though, instead of being driven back, Naruto merely poofed. Shadow clone! The shinobi present looked around trying to pinpoint the blonde, some of the ANBU taking up defensive positions.

"Above us!" One of the jonin shouted. Everyone turned up to see the distant figure of Naruto flashing through hand signs. Jiraiya paled.

"Shit! Everyone move! NOW!" everyone scrambled away, and not a moment too soon seeing as how Naruto had finished preparing the jutsu.

**"Fūton:Toppū hanmāforu!"** A enlarged and modified version of the air bullet technique fell onto the district, creating a rather large crater that encompassed a whole block. "Die old hag!" He roared as he sailed down towards them, fingers on his chakra armor prosthetic sharpening into talons. two ANBU jumped forward and flashed through hand signs.

**"Fūton: Daitoppa!"**

**"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" **Both of the jutsus sped towards Naruto and collided at the same time, making a powerful explosion. It was at this time Kushina, Tsuki, and thier ANBU guard arrived on scene. _Oh shit oh shit OH SHIT! This can't be good. If Kushina ends up fighthing Naruto- _

"Kushina, fall back-" Kushina rushed on, not heading a word.

"What was that? Sorry, couldn't hear you over the sound of me kicking ass!" She hollered back, Tsuki following close behind. Naruto fell from the explosion, his figure swathed in black smoke. Tsuki dashed forward and delivered an axe kick, sending Naruto tumbling towards the earth, the impact so hard it made him bounce several feet in the air. Kushina, wrapping her katana with chakra chains, swung it down like a horned whip, slashing viciously through the chest before striking back and impaling him through the heart, stuck to the wall. Kushina and Tsuki stood confidently facing the group.

(Bleach OST: Treachery-end)

"See? That wasn't so hard now, was it?" She said boastingly, only for the group to look at her in horror. "What? do I have something on my face?" She asked. Tsunade, barely getting out of her shock, saw a sight that horrified her even more. There, was Naruto, pinned to the wall by his own mother's sword through his chest.

"NAAARRUUUUTOOOOOO!" Kushina froze and looked fearfully behind her, as did Tsuki. What she saw would haunt her for the rest of her days. There hung her son, impaled on her sword. She collapsed to her knees, shaking.

"N-no...oh god no..N-naruto..." she choked. Tsuki looked horrified.

"O-onii-c-chan?" was all she managed to say before she started heaving on the floor next to her. Her older brother, whom she wanted to see so much, she had just helped her mother kill him. A dark laughter broke them from their sadness.

"He he he...*cough cough* whats wrong MOTHER? *cough* Aren't you happy to see your SON?" Naurto replied, slowly extracting him and the sword from the wall. He looked down at the blade for a second before slowly pulling it out.

"No! Naruto don't!" Tsunade pleaded, trying to rush over there to help him, though some ANBU blocked her way. Naruto still wanted her dead. Everyone watched horrified as the blood flowed out of the wound, pooling around his feet. "That HURT Mother." He said icily. "But not as much as you leaving me."

"N-naruto...I'm sor-"

"Maybe I should show you-no, wait, I should make you FEEL my pain! THE PAIN FROM THOSE THREE YEARS I SPENT IN HELL!" He roared.

(FFVII Crisis Core OST: The SUMMONED-play)

a red chakra shroud formed around his, violent and thrashing out against several nearby buildings. Then it retracted, solidifying itself till Naruto was no longer visible. The chakra shroud became an assortment of black form fitting armor plates with red between the gaps, his helmet **(Think Hakumen's helmet from Blazblue, except that it has other plates underlapping the face plate, basically making a full helmet)** devoid of any opening save for the two red eye slits resembling the eye lines from a traditional fox mask. His blonde mane was gone, in its place nine thrashing links of red chakra chains, each with a blade attached at the end. His killing intent flooded Konoha, even making it hard for those in the emergency shelters to breath. he held up his right hand as a tailed beast ball formed in his palm, blades of wind chakra spinning in random orbitals.

"Do you like it, mother?" he said, gesturing towards his form."This, is what my home did to me. This is what you left me to. And now...kekeke...I get to KILL YOU! TIME TO DIE, MOTHER!"

**The return battle ark will be separated into two chapters since the fight sequences last so long. Again, I'm sorry about the future delay for the next three weeks, but school comes first. Sorry for you Naruto/Yugito fans, but as you can tell, Yugito is not Hikari's mother. Next chapter though that will be revealed. Anyways, here are the jutsu Naruto uses:**

****Fūton: ****Kanashimi no ejji****

****class:B****

****Affinity: Wind****

****Description: forms wind chakra claws that can be launched from the hand but remain ground born.****

**** Warning: reacts explosively with Fire justu ****

****Downside: slightly slower than most wind jutsu's, but makes up for it in destructive power.****

******Fūton: ****Ton'neringu kama-fū******

******Class:C******

******Affinity: wind******

******Description: Similar to Gatsuga but faster. ******

******Downside: the user has no visibility while using this so must know where targets are before hand. Leaves user momentarily disoriented.******

******Siago Bunshin******

******Class:A******

******Affinity:none******

**Description: Creates a clone with a similar chakra network, consumes more chakra than a kage bunshin. Can simulate user's death.**

** Downside:each clone limited to one jutsu. Pain of "death" also transfers back to user.**

**Fūton:Toppū hanmāforu**

**Class: S**

**Affinity: wind**

**Description: large area wind bullet attack, even glancing hits can tear limbs. **

**Warning: reacts explosively with fire justsu (1.5 mile blast radius). **

**Downside: extremely long start up period. Large chakra drain.**

**Hope you enjoyed it! Please review! And no flames!**


	6. Bleed for me

**Sorry for the delay in chapters, I've been busy with a job I've gotten a little while ago, and will soon have to take up the job hunt once again. I know retail jobs are always ugly, but when a manager tells you that the job is non commission then says that your sales determine how many hours you work, then that really throws a wrench in your plans. Anyways, I'm ranting. I just wanted to let you guys know that the unannounced hiatus was not intended and really unfair to you readers, especially with the previous chapter's cliffhanger. With that, I present to you the the 6th chapter in "Smile Before He's Gone," my longest chapter to boot.  
><strong>

**What may have been a violent reunion has turned into all out combat! Will Konoha stand up against Naruto's wrath? Is Tsunade really guilty? Read on to find out! reviews are encouraged, and please no flames!**

**I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

><p>(Skillet: Monster-play)<p>

Everyone stared in shock and horror at Naruto's form. His presence was overpowering. The orb of destruction held in his hand spinning erratically. With calm, methodical steps, Naruto slowly approached the prone forms of his mother and sister, his metal mask leering at them. Time seemed to stop for Kushina. No, how could Naruto, the sweet little boy that everyone had told her of, be so twisted by hate. Malice and anger oozed off of him, permeating the very air, suffocated them in its presence. For one of the few times during her career, Kushina was afraid.

Tsuki was no better off. All her life, she had wanted to meet her older brother, the kind and funny boy she had always heard about. The brother that stood before her was nothing like the one that she was told stories of. By now Naruto no more than a few feet in front of them, the wind chakra blade's orbitals getting more violent and chaotic, as if excited for what was to happen.

**"Twenty years..."**

The two started at Naruto's voice. They looked up at him regarding them with absolute loathing.

"Wha?..." Was all Kushina could dumbly reply. The malevolent aura seemed to intensify at her words. The orbitals grew even more chaotic, the blades lengthening. The nine chakra chain tails from his helmet thrashed violently, gouging deep scores in the earth, one lashed out at one of the adjacent buildings with a quick flick. The building violently split apart, the ground ripped apart by a deep fissure.

**"Twenty years...you abandoned me. YOU LEFT ME ALONE FOR TWENTY YEARS IN HELL!" **He roared, blowing the wind around them violently. Kushina paled, her heart almost stopping.

"Na-naruto...I-I'm so sorr-sorry" She choked.

**"SHUT UP!"** He roared. **"I'M SICK OF IT. I'M SICK OF HEARING LIES! I'M SICK OF THE EXCUSES!"** He went to his knee and yanked Kushina's hair roughly with his free hand, drawing her face close to his sneering mask. Her eyes dilated in fear, the eye slits offered no sympathy, no mercy. It was like staring at the point of a blade, the last thing you see before you die. His other hand held the orbiting ball of death, which was now spinning like a saw blade, was slowly going closer to her face, intent on tearing her head to shreds. **"Any last words...Kushina?" **He asked in a voice that would turn flames to ice. Before she could respond, Gai and Lee came to the scene, both already past the first gate of opening release, their feet connecting to Naruto, sending him flying through several buildings leaving a trail of wreckage. Kushina woke from her stupor and grabbed her daughter and leapt away before the discarded demonic rasengan had a chance to touch the ground.

Everyone followed her example and fled from the area. No sooner did it so much as come into contact with the ground, did all hell break loose. The explosion covered eight entire blocks, though that itself, while fearsome, was not what scared all the shinobi shitless. It was the shape itself. It was not the standard explosion you see from an explosive tag. The fear for itself was that of a raging fox that rose to the sky, all the while ripping the surrounding landscape to shreds. Before it dissipated, it had turned to the shinobi, and sneered, before exploding outward in flames, spreading quickly to the surrounding buildings.

Tsunade recovered her wits first and began ordering the ANBU to contain the fire from spreading. Jiraiya stared in horror.

"Dear Kami...he completed it..." He muttered to himself. He shook his head and headed to where Naruto had crashed, to try to subdue his god-son before things got even more out of hand. The Naruto retrieval team had came to the scene and followed him.

"Jiraiya-sama! What happened?" Sakura asked, all of the group sharing fearful expressions.

"The brat tossed us around like rag dolls. Then Kushina and Tsuki almost killed him by accident. After he saw them he went berserk and did that." He elaborated, jerking his head in the direction of the smoldering crater. "Luckily Gai and Lee intervened before he killed Kushina." Everyone paled at the thought that Naruto would actually attempt to kill his own mother. "Look, I know you all care about the gaki, I do too. But you can't half ass this. Right now he's not in the right state of mind, you hold back, and he will kill you." He stated gravelly. Everyone reluctantly nodded, and steeled themselves for a battle of their lives.

* * *

><p>Naruto extricated himself from the crater he made int the mountain wall. Before him were Gai and Lee, their skin red from the effects of the gates. Though at what level he could not tell, though he would have guessed at least gate three from the force of their kicks.<p>

**"Gai-san, Lee, I wish we did not meet under such circumstances."** He stepped forward, and both of them tensed. **"Please do not get in my way."**

Lee and Gai shook their heads.

"I cannot stand aside! PLEASE, SURRENDER. I DO NOT WISH TO FIGHT A FRIEND AND RIVAL!" Lee yelled.

"NARUTO, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH? DO NOT LET YOUR MIND BE CLOUDED BY THIS RAGE!" Gai added. Naruto sadly shook his head.

**"STEP. ASIDE."** Naruto replied, and took a step forward, only for Gai to rush forward with inhuman speed, executing a perfect roundhouse kick connecting with his head.

**"Geki — Konoha Kongōriki Senpū!"** Naruto was sent flying with explosive force, breaking anything in his path. After going through what felt like seven blocks, Lee appeared and delivered a fierce uppercut that sent him flying into the air. Naruto sailed through the air, the wind buffeting him on all sides, Only to be met by Gai.

**"Hirudora!" **The wind exploded outwards in the form of a rushing tiger, slamming into Naruto's still sailing form at full strength. The air trembled with the force of its roar as it sent Naruto hurtling towards the ground below. HIs insides felt scrambled from the force of the blow. EVen as he hit the ground the force made him bounce several stories in the air, only to be hit away By on of Lee's kicks. They weren't going to give him a moments respite.

* * *

><p>"Let me go to my son!"<p>

Kushina struggled against the ANBU guards restraining her, as well as Tsuki. Both were in hysterics.

"Goddammit Kushina! He'd kill you as soon as he sees you!" Tsunade bellowed. All the collective shinobi shivered at the recollection of just how willing Naruto had been to wipe his mother off the face of the earth. Though she would never admit it, at that moment Naruto had scared here more than any other moment in her past history as a shinobi. Kushina was having none of it though.

"NO! Look, I...I know he's angry and he's hurting, but I have to make things right!"

"You won't be doing any good by coming back in a BODY BAG!" She retorted, a tremor running through the village only supporting her statement. "Now I order you to fall back!"

"NO!" Kushina cried out, and elbowed one of the ANBU guards restraining her, then using the newfound slack to roundhouse kick the other ANBU, dashing off into the source of the conflict.

"Goddamit Kushina! ANBU! RESTRAIN HER!" Tsunade ordered, prompting several ANBU to take to the roofs, hot on the red head's trail. No one noticed Tsuki using the distraction to subdue her guards and follow her mother, desperate to try to make amends with her brother.

* * *

><p>"See Kitty? Told ya we'd get here in a jiffy."<p>

*Smack*

"Is now the time for raps?" Yugito thundered, pointing off into the chaos that was ensuing in the village. As if to support her remark, several notable explosions went off in the city, smoke clouds blossoming in the air.

"Aw shit man, so kitty whats the plan? Can we just go in and bop some heads? Or run with Naruto like lead?" **(AN: In advance, for you B fans out there, writing his dialogue is difficult, especially with his rhymes...) **B asked. Yugito shook her head.

"The latter, even though we are two of the nine Jinchuriki, I don't want to chance taking on a whole hidden village, while looking after Naruto at the same time. No. Our safest bet is to locate Naruto as quickly as possible in this chaos undetected, then calm down Naruto before high tailing it home." She stated. B started chuckling, prompting a tick mark to grow on Yugito's forehead. "And may I ask, WHAT'S SO FUNNY AT THE MOMENT?" she yelled, pointing off to the distant explosions.

"You said 'tail'," B replied. Yugito face palmed before smacking B upside the head.

"You good?" B merely nodded and without any further delay, the two sped off into the chaos that was Konoha.

* * *

><p>(Skillet:monster-end)<p>

(Blazblue OST: Gluttony Fang-play)

Maito Gai unleashed a roar as he performed a flying kick towards Naruto, only for him to catch his foot and toss him into Lee who was leaping in towards his left. The two collided and were sent sprawling into an adjacent building.

**"Stay out of my way! This does not concern you!"** Naruto growled. He didn't want to fight Lee or Gai, two people he sympathized with. But they were leaving him no choice. They would not listen to him though as Lee sprang from the rubble to unleash a barrage of punches at Naruto.

"YOU KNOW THAT I CAN'T DO THAT NARUTO!" Lee replied, never slowing in his punches. Naruto dodged and ducked with ease, not wanting to injure his friend more than necessary. Though catching Gai diving towards him from the sky in an axe kick, Naruto was forced to dive out of the way, the ensuiing crater from the blow assured him that the two were not pulling their punches. Before Gai could follow up on the failed attack Naruto whipped one of his chain tails around the Jounin, slamming him into the ground before using him like a wrecking ball on a nearby wall. He turned towards Lee just in time to catch his punch aimed at his face.

He turned to see his friend's face, which instead of rage, showed a sadness bellied by the tears he shed.

"W-why? Why are you doing this Naruto? Why would you turn on your h-home?" Lee asked. The cold aura returned to Naruto from before, it felt as if the surrounding temperature had dropped several degrees. Naruto reversed his hold and threw Lee over his shoulder.

**"You would never understand even if I told you."** He stated. With his momentary obstacle out of the way he made to go after that...woman...but before he could even get away from the village square, a giant fireball careened towards him.

**"Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!"** Though much to Sasuke and the group's horror, Naruto made no move to dodge the dragon shaped fireball. The resulting explosion was deafening. Hinata's heart clenched in dread.

_No no no no, he's gonna be okay. He's strong. Naruto always has been. We can't go easy on him. Oh kami, what if..._

Hinata was saved from her internal fretting as the smoke cleared showing Naruto standing there, hand outstretched with smoke billowing from his open palm. Not a scratch or scorch on him.

**"STAY OUT OF THIS UCHIHA."**

"I'm afraid I can't sit back and watch you destroy your home Naruto." Sasuke retorted. Naruto chuckled mirthlessly. It was soon blown out into full out laughter.

**"Funny, that I hear that coming from you Uchiha. Now, GET OUT OF MY WAY."** Naruto declared vehemently.

"Are you that willing to destroy everything your father worked for Naruto?" asked Kakashi. Everyone felt a oppressive weight forcing them to the ground.

**"Don't speak of that man to me Hatake. He is just as guilty." **Naruto growled out. He made to dash away, they had already wasted enough of his time, that was, until a series of kunai with exploding tags rained down around him. The explosions overlapped each other, creating a thunderous boom that seemed to last for seconds rather than a moment. After the smoke cleared, Naruto turned to address the two new assailants that joined them.

**"Hello, Ten ten, Neji, or should I say Tiger and Dragon?"** If the two ANBU were startled at being identified so easily, they didn't show it.

"Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. The Hokage has ordered us to detain you before you cause any more harm. We will use lethal force if necessary. Please, make this easier for yourself friend." Neji said, forgoing his normal cold demeanor. Naruto's chain tails thrashed angrily at the remark.

**"So thats it? The old Hag thinks I'll kneel before her after everything they've done to me? I'LL KILL THAT BITCH!" **Naruto roared. By now several ANBU had also arrived, forming a considerable force. Neji shook his head sadly.

"I don't want to do this Naruto, but you leave me no choice." He said ruefully as he drew his tanto. The others followed suit. Team 7 and Company readied their weapons. As one they all leapt towards Naruto. The next few seconds the Shinobi of the leaf would describe as one of the fiercest battles for their life.

* * *

><p>"Yo kitty are we close yet, how much you wanna bet?" At that moment a serious shit storm started brewing towards the eastern wall.<p>

"I can guarantee you that Naruto's behind that." Yugito stated before sidestepping a flying port-a-potty. "What is it with him and Port-a-potties?"

B shrugged before they set off.

* * *

><p>An ANBU to his left made a swipe towards his jugular while another to his right went for his Achilles's tendon. jumping into the air he corkscrewed until horizontal in the floor, kicking the ANBU to the left in the head while twisting the wrist of the ANBU to his left, forcing him to relieve his tanto. Upon touching the ground he twisted the ANBU's arm behind his back, before throwing him into one of his comrades. Kicking up the discarded tanto he caught it in mid arc, using it to deflect a hail of incoming kunai before flinging it at an ANBU pining him to the wall by the clasp of his chest armor. Another ANBU came forward with a katana posed to strike. Naruto caught it mid swing, and clenched his fist, snapping the blade in half. Grabbing the stunned ANBU by the head he slammed him face first into the ground.<p>

Two ANBU emerged from the ground, only to be caught by two of Naruto's chain tails and thrown into a vending cart. Several more flung a hail or shuriken that would have made most Jounin pale. Naruto drew NULL, and deflected the incoming hail of steel with ease, his right arm working in a flurry of sweeps that even to the most sharpest ANBU eye seemed like a blur.

Several of the ANBU made way for one of their own who carried a gourd of water on their person, who was currently flashing through hand signs. **"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!"**

The dragon sprung forth from the gourd and rushed at Naruto, who made no move to get out of its path. Just when it looked like it would hit, he...backhanded it? And sent it into a group of three ANBU off to the side. Two other ANBU ran up to him the first using the other's shoulder to go up above, both of them flashing through hand signs.

**"Fūton: Daitoppa!"**

**"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"**

The two volatile jutsu's rushed forward towards the Jinchuriki. The resulting explosion sent up a giant dust cloud, obscuring the battle scene. A tense silence followed for several seconds, before two of the chain tails speared out from the dust, wrapping themselves around the two ANBU, slamming them into the ground before flinging them away. Naruto slowly strode out of the crater, unscathed. **"The same thing won't work twice you idiots." **His chain tails twitched and thrashed in annoyance.

(Blazblue OST: Gluttony Fang-end)

The ANBU looked ready to pounce and do a follow up attack, until Neji came forward flanked with Tenten and the rest of the Konoha 11. Neji held up a hand to signal the other ANBU to stop. The silence that followed was only interrupted when Naruto's tails would gouge the earth. Hinata walked forward, her eyes pleading.

"N-Naruto...please...st-stop this..." She begged. Naruto looked away, his fists trembling. For in those few seconds, in her watery, lavender eyes, he saw himself. He didn't like it. He felt angry, at himself, at everyone. Even now, after everything, he was still the monster. After what all those sick bastards had done, after what that...that bitch had done to him, he was still the villain! He couldn't stand it!

**"...step aside..."** Hinata looked in surprise, her eyes widening.

"Wha-What? Naruto..." She asked, taking a step forward. Before she could go any further she felt a little prick at her throat. Once she realized what it was she froze and the group behind them started with a collective gasp. There, drawing a tiny prick of blood that slithered down Hinata's neck, was one of Naruto's chakra chain tails, the fearsome pointed blade tip just barley parting her skin. Naruto turned towards Hinata the mask helping in hiding the turmoil and rage he felt stirring inside him.

**"Step aside Hinata. I will not stop, not even for you." **he stated coldly. The next thing that happened stunned everyone.

"No." Hinata stated defiantly, staring Naruto full in the eye.

**"What?" **Hinata held her gaze, not flinching at the edge in Naruto's voice.

"I said no!" In a flash every single chakra chain tail was pointing their bladed ends at her head and throat, dangerously close. Several of the assorted ninja were baffled and scared at what Naruto might do in his state to the Hyuga clan head.

**"I. SAID. STEP. ASIDE." **Naruto ground out. Hinata stood her ground.

"No!"

**"Don't you..DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO DEFEND THEM! I THOUGHT YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND HINATA! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE HELL THEY DID TO ME? DO YOU!" **He roared. Hinata found herself unable to say anything. He chuckled darkly at Hinata's silence. **"Tell me, Hinata. Do you know what it felt like, to see you all go on with your lives, while some bastard was opening up my chest to see what differences there are in a Jinchuriki? It's quite a different experience while you're awake, let me tell you. Do you know what it was like, to see Hikari's mother killed before she could even see her daughter's face? Do you know how many times I prayed for death than live in that hell? The only thing that kept me going was my daughter! DO you know my pain? Do you...DO YOU? TELL ME HINATA!"** He roared. Hinata was trembling at the end of his speech, tears flowing from her eyes. She looked like she was going to collapse to the floor and cry her heart out. Anyone there could feel it, the intense waves of anger, hurt, sadness, and most of all, pain that flowed from Naruto. It did not go unnoticed by the new arrival to the scene.

(Coheed & Cambria: Welcome Home-play)

"N-Naruto!" Everyone froze, Kushina could not have come at a more inopportune time. Kushina had arrived at the scene to see her son facing Hinata and rushed in without another thought. Naruto didn't need to see her to know it was the woman he hated most of all. All of the lingering emotions in the air were blotted out by one oppressive, all consuming emotion. RAGE.

* * *

><p><em>A baby's cries could be heard. What normally would have been music to an expected parent fell on deaf ears for Naruto. He couldn't staunch the flow of tears at the sight of His beloved, lying there on the table, her belly slit open like some sick dissection project. She cried and sobbed in pain.<em>

_"Na...Naruto-kun...where, where are you dear?" She called out fearfully, weakly looking around the room.  
><em>

_"I-I'm right here honey, don't worry, everything's...everything's gonna be okay..." he choked, all the while struggling against the restraints placed on him by one of his attendants. His wrists bled from struggling against his chains, but he could care less. He just wanted nothing more in the world than to help his beloved, to stop the flow of blood, every second making her look paler. The room was cold, almost as if the shinigami himself was standing over her. One of the medical staff came in, the rusted hinges of the door protesting audibly in the room. She turned weakly towards the man clad in medical scrubs.  
><em>

_"M-may I...see my ch-child?" she pleaded. The man gave no acknowledgment of the request.  
><em>

_"Subject 1344-B you are no longer required."  
><em>

_It was over. It was a simple flick of the wrist, and her fate was sealed. Naruto screamed as what little blood left in her body bled from the slash on her throat. Even as the Shock Suppression Seals activated, He strained against them. Calling every single shred of anger he could, he fought for what seemed to be days, only when he finally did stop the seals deactivate. Danzo by then had strolled in to see the sight. With a wave of his hand his attendant released his bindings. He rushed over and cradled his wife's now cold limp form. _

_'She didn't deserve this. She deserved so much better...I should...I should have...' he couldn't stop the flood of tears that streamed down his face. Several of the medical monitors had turned on, displaying a group of people celebrating a girl's birthday. Danzo grabbed his head and shoved it towards the nearest monitor. Naruto could see Kushina smiling and hugging a girl very similar to herself. People were laughing and drinking. It seemed so surreal, that something so happy and joyful could be happening at the this moment, where he held his dead beloved.  
><em>

_"Happy birthday my little ball of sunshine."_

_"Thanks mom, this is the best birthday ever!"_

_"You see." Danzo whispered in his ear. "She doesn't give a damn what happens to you or your daughter. She replaced you. How could she ever want you? You're the reason her husband and so many of her friends are dead. To her, you are nothing."_

_That day, something in him cracked..._

* * *

><p><strong>"You...YOU BITCH! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOUUUU!" <strong>Naruto roared, turning around and dashing towards his mother, all of his tails poised to kill. Hinata ran after him.

"No! Naruto don't!"

"Sasuke, NOW!" Sasuke and Kakashi ran forwards, their hands aglow with the lightning.

**"Tsuin'ākukurēn!"** The lightning shot forward from their hands, arcing along with each other before colliding with Naruto, lighting his form aglow.

**"GRAAAAA!" **Naruto screamed as his form twitched, the destructive chakra coursing through him. Not giving him a moments respite, Gai slammed into him and unleashed a barrage of punches that staggered his form, before Kiba pulled the final blow.

**"Gatsūga!" **though instead of plowing him into the wall, Naruto remained where he stood until Kiba finally lost his rotation, revealing Naruto's head to only be slightly cocked to the side, His eye slits glaring.

**"My turn." **Grabbing Kiba's fist, he pulled him into a knee to the gut that blew all the air from Kiba's body before tossing him to Gai who caught him, which was a mistake on his part as Naruto vanished only to appear in midair in front of Gai.

**"Washi no kama!"** Naruto roared, unleashing a series of rotating wind enhanced kicks that sent the taijutsu specialist flying with Kiba trailing afterword. They didn't travel far though as on of Naruto's chain tails caught them and hurled them into a nearby store. He jumped towards where the rest of the Konoha 11 were gathered, Kushina included, and leapt in the midst of them, creating a shock wave as he landed, forcing everyone to leap away. Kakashi revealed his sharingan eye while Neji, and somewhat reluctantly, Hinata, activated their Byakugan. Sasuke had already activated his cursed seal mark as a precaution while Sakura put on her gloves, Lee discarding his weights.

"Naruto, think about what you're doing!" Kakashi pleaded, hoping to settle this amicably.

**"I'VE BEEN DREAMING OF THIS FOR YEARS!" **Naruto roared, foregoing any strategies and just charging at them. A hail of assorted weaponry stopped him. Ten ten stood atop of one of the rooftops, modified catapult storage scrolls in hand.

"Don't think this will be easy." Ten ten retorted before unleashing a new hail of weapons. Naruto ran forward unhindered, several of his tails furiously deflecting the weapons until Ten ten switched to explosive notes which detonated around him, forcing him to divert away from them. By then Jiraiya had arrived on scene.

"Lead him outside the village walls!" he ordered, as Ten ten tried to coral Naruto outside Konoha's walls. That is, until he sent a giant chunk of masonry her way, forcing her to evade. Giving him all the time he needed before sending her flying into a wall with a vicious left cross. Ten ten slid down the wall, dazed. Sakura came to her rescue though as she sprung up from the inside of the house, delivering a vicious uppercut.

Sakura, while arguably one amongst the most sought after kunoichi of her generation, was still feared for her mighty strength that could send an Akimichi flying. Yet the uppercut had not even so much as rocked Naruto back on his heels.

**"Not so easy to push me around, is it Haruno!"** Naruto chuckled coldly before grabbing her head by her hair and flinging her into Kakashi who was sneaking up on him with a suppression seal in hand.

**"Karorī Kontorōru!"** Choji roared, the enormous amounts of chakra forming a pair of pulsing butterfly wings consisting solely of chakra. The dust billowed around him before the Akimichi charged, Sasuke joining him, aiming to strike behind.

**"Chōdan Bakugeki!"**

**"Chidori Eisō!"  
><strong>

Naruto stood there, chuckling mirthlessly. **"Perhaps I should up the ante too?" **he remarked, activating a seal array on his left arm. Seconds before impact two colossal hands warped in front of the attacks, halting them entirely.

"What the hell?" Sasuke remarked. Everyone stared in awe as it slowly materialized into being, Kakashi shocked as comprehension dawned on him. It was ghastly, a structure made of of chakra armor, humanoid in nature, with a gaping maw as its chest. It face was the of a human's, but skeletal in appearance, it's maw stuck in a ghastly grin with two small horns on it's forehead. Further down it resembled a snake, as it had no legs to speak of and its spinal cord was elongated and constantly twisting about. The whole structure was hovering in the air, with several seals placed over its body and forehead. It crushed Sasuke's lightning jutsu while tossing Choji.

"Na-Naruto...tell me...tell me you didn't..." Kakashi stammered as the puppets glowing green eyes swiveled over to him. Naruto cackled.

**"Do you like it Hatake? Did you honestly think, that after everything I went through, that I would allow Danzo and his men the sweet release of death?" **Everyone looked at Kakashi in confusion.

"Kakashi-san, what is Naruto talking about?" Kushina asked. Kakashi shook ever so slightly.

"Those tags, they're container seals..." Everyone's eyes widened at this.

"Y-you can't mean Kakashi-san..." Kushina trailed off.

**"Oh yes, MOTHER, that's exactly what he means. After everything those bastards did to me, a life of eternal suffering seemed a suitable punishment."** Naruto said gesturing towards the construct.** "In Kugyō no haka resides the soul of every single person involved in protocol 87 ALPHA. And soon, I'LL SEAL YOU INTO IT TOO!"** He roared, rushing towards them.

* * *

><p>Naruto dashed forward with his grisly puppet in tow, intent on carrying out said deed. Sasuke, hot on Naruto's heels, brought his blade to bear down on Naruto's back, only to have it swatted away by the puppet's hand, it's ever present grin mocking him. Naruto continued on in the direction of his mother unhindered though. Sasuke attempted to give chase, but was forced to dodge as the puppet's hands elongated into claws and nicked his arm drawing blood. Such a shallow wound the stoic Uchiha would have normally ignored, if not for the case of Nausea, Pain, Vertigo, and a migraine that assaulted him, rolled up in one package. He slumped to the floor, unable to stand any longer.<p>

Sakura and Lee, noticing his predicament, rushed over to help and stave off the automaton. Sakura rushed over to Sasuke whereas Lee went to distract the puppet. Sakura quickly scanned over Sasuke's body form injuries, but was puzzled that the only injuries she could find on him were a few shallow cuts on his arm, a very minor injury. To be sure she ran a diagnostic jutsu to double check. What she found made her complexion pale considerably in fear.

"LEE! GET AWAY FROM THAT THING!" She screamed. Lee, who was about to execute a flying kick in the direction of the automaton's head heeded her words and backtracked. And not a second to soon as the puppet released a purple cloud of miasma that would have most likely have killed Lee. Kugyō no haka didn't stop there though and launched several senbon needles from hidden compartments, all the while slashing and clawing at the shinobi. Even Lee, with all his speed, was hard pressed to dodge. Sakura scooped up Sasuke's form and rushed down one of the alleyways, with Lee following suit. They dipped and weaved through the streets of Konoha, and judging by the sounds of destruction behind them, the automaton was close behind. It seemed the puppet had no head for obstacles as it burst through a section of wall in front of them, its eyes aglow much like a predator chasing its prey. The two were hard pressed to dodge the volley of senbon in the close confines of the alleyway.

Lee threw a few kunai with exploding tags at the surrounding walls causing their structure to collapse and cave in that section of the alleyway, buying them a few moments with which they used to flee away. After gaining a considerable distance between them and the monster, Sakura set Sasuke against a wall while she tried to treat him using what medical supplies she carried on her.

"*cough cough* So, how bad is it?" Sasuke asked. Sakura looked pensive.

"Not good, you're lucky you activated the curse mark to level one, otherwise this poison would have spread through your bloodstream and liquified all your major organs and killed you in seconds." She replied, all business.

"Am I gonna die?" He asked. Sakura shook her head.

"No, I can treat it, but not here, I don't have the necessary tools on me. At the most I could subdue the symptoms for...about thirty minutes. After that, I'd need to rush you over to the proper facilities."  
>Sasuke paused, taking all this in, before offering a suggestion.<p>

"What if I activate the second stage? How long then?" Sakura ran some mental math before replying.

"About an hour, anything longer than that is unlikely."  
>Just at that moment Kugyō no haka ghosted around the corner, its maw gaping open in anticipation, the green flames that served as its eyes whisping out of its sockets as if in anger.<p>

"That'll have to do." Sasuke stated as his skin darkened and the whites of his eyes turned black.

(Coheed & Cambria: Welcome Home-end)

* * *

><p>(Manafest: Impossible-play)<p>

The collective shinobi prepared themselves for Naruto's charge, though were stunned as he suddenly disappeared from sight. . Everyone's collective hearts froze at his sudden display of speed. The next moment he appeared in front of Kushina, fist cocked back. She was barely able to erect a hasty defense of chakra chains just in time, but to no avail as his fist shattered the chains, slamming into her and propelling her into the air a considerable distance. Luckily for her before she splattered bloodily against the forest floor, Jiraiya leapt to catch her.

"Jiraiya...what have I done?" She asked, her normal stoic attitude all but faded in the presence of her son's hatred.

*Slap*

"First Tsunade, now you. Where the hell did the bloody habanero that Minato fell in love with go? You were gone for his whole life. Of course he'd be pissed! So what? Would that stop the Kushina that I know?" Jiraiya yelled. Kushina chuckled before shaking her head.

"No, you're right, she would also do this!" She replied as she socked him in the gut, bringing him to his knees.

"*wheeze*...thatta girl" Jiraiya gasped before righting himself. "Now, lets regroup with the rest of the team, facing Naruto in this state head on would be suicide."

But sure enough Naruto was right on them, mowing down the surrounding trees without a care.

**"DIE ALREADY!"** He roared, jumping up to deliver a fearsome punch to the ground that put Tsunade's to shame, making the earth erupt violently upwards in a fan formation, pressing the Sannin and Jounin's evasion skills to the test. the earthen pillars were almost as big as small mountains. As the tremors stopped, Jiraiya and Kushina stood atop two of the tallest earthen pillars, looking for Naruto. Hinata, Neji, Gai, Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, and Iruka soon joined them.

"So, whats the plan?" Iruka asked. Whoever was going to answer was cut off as Naruto leapt up to them, swinging an earthen column the size of the hokage monument at them... WITH ONE HAND? The group became slack jawed at the monstrous feat of strength.

"...Holy..."

"...Shit..."

"...We're..."

"...Fucked..."

The group managed to leap away before being splattered to a pulp. The pillars they had briefly stood upon reduced to pebbles in the collision, releasing a massive dust cloud that covered a fair share of the now decimated forest. As the group tried to catch their breath, a boulder flew out of the dust cloud in their relative direction. The group easily dodged it, Gai diving under it while the rest dived to the sides, expecting Naruto to use this as a distraction for a follow up attack. Oh, if only Gai knew. As the boulder spiraled, it revealed to show Naruto, who had been previously clinging to its surface. Gai barely noticed his presence and turned around to block as Naruto sent a devastating punch his way that sent him flying. Not long after he had jumped off the boulder did several exploding tags placed on it detonate, sending the other shinobi out of the way as they dodged the hail of shrapnel.

Naruto quickly darted towards Kushina, only to have Neji cut him off with a gentle fist strike. Naruto ducked his head while using his left arm to strike at Neji's arm from below, but much to the ANBU captain's credit, he didn't so much as flinch from the dull pain in his forearm and continued his assault with a strike aimed at Naruto's larynx. Naruto cocked his head to the side before he spun around, blocking Kakashi's kunai with NULL while slamming Neji away with his chain tails. Kakashi brought his second Kunai to bear, ducking under Naruto's guard and aiming a strike at his gut. Naruto, using Kakashi's shoulder as a springboard, launched himself towards Kushina, his eyes crying out for blood.

**"COME ON AND FACE ME, KUSHINA!" **He roared. Kushina, her face set in determination, brought out her katana to bear. A blade running along the length of his left forearm protruded, its edge sinisterly sharp. Kushina brought her blade to block the slash he sent towards her neck. Sparks shot out at the ferocity of the blows. Had Kushina's blade been of any lower quality, Naruto's blade would have broken clean through her katana and proceeded to have slit her throat. She felt the ground beneath her feat give way to a crater from the monstrous blow, but she still held on. Seeing as how Kushina would not back down, Naruto brought NULL overhead and brought it slamming down on her left wrist. While NULL had no edge to speak of, with the right amount of force it could still break bones. An audible snap echoed throughout the clearing.

Kushina cried out in pain before darting away, her katana gripped loosely in her right hand. Her entire left hand screamed in pain. She could already tell It would be useless to try and use it anytime soon. Her entire wrist had already turned a dark sickly purple and had swollen considerably. Though despite this she bravely brandished her katana one-handed against her charging son. Unfortunately for her, mercy was one thing Naruto did not hold for her. That much was evident in the force behind his blows. With each strike she deflected, her arm rang with the vibrations. She could feel her hand growing numb just from the first few blows. At one particular blow Naruto leaned in, applying his weight to his blade making Kushina tremble beneath the force while leering in her face.

**"Whats wrong...Kushina?"** He whispered. His chain tails, which she had forgotten up until now, snaked around her, pointing at her head and throat. One in particular nudging the skin over her jugular, ever so slightly so as not to pierce the skin, yet still feel sharp against her, in a caressing like manner. Her eyes dilated as her knees started to quiver. No, it couldn't...it couldn't end this way! Not now! Not after just barely finding her son again! She started to sob uncontrollably. **"Are you afraid Kushina? Just a flick...that's all I need, and your life...is over." **He hissed. **"Don't worry dear...I won't let it end that quickly!" **He seethed, one of his tails darting towards her left leg and slicing a deep gash on her thigh before landing a punishing kick on her left side, crushing her kidney and winding her.

Kushina gasped in pain, her propped katana the only thing stopping her from collapsing. She bled like a stuck pig and tried to limp away, only to be grabbed by her hair and slammed face first into the ground. This was repeated several times until he shifted his grip to lift her by her throat. Her beautiful face marred by blood paled in fear. She frantically tried to claw away at the hand holding her, desperate to get away. His eyes danced with mirth at her attempts. He cocked his right hand back, his hand pointed like the tip of a spear.

**"Goodbye...Mother"** he growled, before thrusting his hand through her chest, straight through her heart. Blood gushed from the wound as she twitched until her eyes glassed over and her body fell limp. He tossed her aside after ripping out his arm from her chest. He gazed around, watching as Konoha was set ablaze before his very eyes.

It...was everything he wanted...

He spun around quickly blocking the kunai strike from Kurenai with NULL. Judging from her face, she had long believed that he was too deep into the genjutsu to notice. He chuckled.

**"Tsk tsk Kurenia-chan, don't you know its rude to tease people?"** he chided, before bringing his left bladed arm to bear. Kurenai quickly dived back before he could strike, dispelling the genjutsu. The fires had disappeared, revealing the group, added Tsunade, Tsuki, and Gamabunta present. Judging by their looks, they were all able to view what was going on in the genjutsu at the time. He looked at his 'sister' Tsuki, and nodded in her direction.

**"Excellent use of the blood clone Tsuki."** He mockingly praised, clapping. Tsuki started. How long had he-

**"How long did I know I was under a genjutsu?"** Naruto interrupted her chain of thought. He chuckled at her dumbstruck expression as well as the others, curious to know how he had fooled Konoha's Ice Queen. **"After the first blow of course. You must really pick up on your kenjutsu Tsuki. All of your blows, feel hollow. As for the rest, If I was about to kill dear mother, I doubt the rest of you would have stood by and watched."** He elaborated.

"Then why fake the illusion?" Tsunade asked. All of the group felt an involuntary shudder run down their spines. The whole group had the impression that behind the mask Naruto was grinning sadistically at them.

**"Why, to use it as a distraction to set up a trap of my own of course."** He replied arms raised wide. The group then noticed the fleeting flames in the form of foxes, each holding a seal in the jaws, skirting across the boundaries of the clearing. The foxes, one in a box formation, faded as the seals activated, creating a large intangible box around them, well over ten Gamabunta's in terms of height. **"Wouldn't want any more last minute entries do we?" **he asked, forming a rasengan in one hand. That rasengan soon became ten as the other chain tail blades unfolded into bladed hands and formed thier own chakra spheres.

**"Oi! Boy, don't you think this is going to far?" **Gamabunta asked, his voice bellowing out within the confines of the barrier. Several of those nearby winced at the volume of his voice.

**"STAY OUT OF THIS BUNTA! YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN ANYONE HERE!"** Naruto roared. The rasengans grew and shrunk erratically as he trembled in anger. **"They...they took her away...they...they made me watch! THEY MADE ME WATCH AS THEY KILLED HER BEFORE SHE COULD EVER SEE HER OWN DAUGHTER! HIKARI NEVER GOT TO KNOW HER OWN MOTHER! THESE BASTARDS DESERVE EVERYTHING I'M GOING TO DO TO THEM!"** He roared, hurling the rasengans towards them. Everyone dived out of the way, Gamabunta merely jumping, to avoid the spinning orbs of death. Sure enough wherever they touched were met with explosive force, triple that of a normal rasengan. Luckily for them the barrier was very liberal in the space it gave them to dodge.

**"Katon: Gamayu Endan!"** Jiraiya yelled, igniting the oil spewed out by Gamabunta to raze the area Naruto was standing, effectively halting any further follow up attacks. The grass, short and dry for weeks, proved to be great fuel to further aid the fire technique, soon turning the area ablaze, granting them a few minutes of reprieve.

"Tsunade! What did Naruto mean!" Kushina demanded, rounding on the Sannin. Luckily for her Kakashi intervened.

"Kushina, now is not the time, We have to capitalize on this while we still can!" Kakashi said, drawing Jiraiya's attention on him.

"You've figured something out Kakashi?" Jiraiya asked. Kakashi nodded.

"Yes. Ever since I've activated my sharingan, Naruto has avoided using only jutsu's, and has restricted himself to using only taijutsu, kenjutsu, and chakra manipulation." He stated.

"How much longer can you keep it activated?" Neji asked. Kakashi ran some mental math before replying a moment later.

"If I'm frugal with my chakra, about another thirty minutes." He replied. Before Neji could devise a game plan to capitalize on Naruto's self induced handicap, they all noticed something startling. The flames, which had previously been growing steadily out of control, warped in on one focal point. That focal point happened to be an enormous chakra orb hovering in front of Naruto's open maw. His nine chain tails were constantly feeding the orb chakra. The flames were consumed by it, making the orb glow like a raging inferno. Its structure was so dense that the very ground Naruto stood on cracked and gave way, dust constantly swirling around.

As its form grew more compacted, the fissures in the earth grew until finally it was no bigger than a fist. Whatever they had expected Naruto to do with such massive chakra, eating it was not one of them.

"Why do I feel like something terrible is going to happen?" Kakashi asked to no one in particular. Naruto leered at Kushina before letting out an ear screeching roar, accompanied by fiery beam of chakra.

**"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" **The beam itself was blinding as it rushed towards Kushina, who could do nothing to dodge it in time. At the last moment, before the shinigami claimed here, Jiraiya kawamiried(**AN: Forgive me if I spelled this wrong**) with her, taking her place. Everyone felt thier collective hearts clench at the scene before them, every moment stretching out for what felt like minutes. None more so than Tsunade, who felt tears come unbidden to her eyes. Though instead of burning to a crisp, Jiraiya merely poofed, Only to reappear from the ground behind Naruto with a ridiculously large rasengan in hand, which he bashed into Naruto's back.

**"Chōōdama Rasengan!"  
><strong>The force was explosive in nature, the gale it kicked up made the others hard pressed to keep their footing. Naruto hardly budged an inch. Jiraioya strained to keep its rotation fro as long as he could, but it had to give some time. When the jutsu dispelled, Naruto didn't have so much as a skid mark on his back. Naruto slowly turned around towards him, growling.

**"Was that supposed to hurt? You shitty excuse for a God Father? Here...LET ME SHOW YOU HOW ITS DONE!"** He roared, bringing about his nine chain tails to bear, each glowing with wind chakra. **"**Fūton:** Kyōfū no kokonotsu no kama!"** His nine tails slashed at the air, sending crescent waves of wind chakra, more deadlier than the sharpest bladed edge. Jiraiya dashed away, thinking himself in the clear, until Fukasaku alerted him of his peril.

**"You idiot! Behind you!"** The old toad scolded, raping Jiraiya on the head.

"OW! What's the-OH SHIT!" Jiraiya yelled, as he saw the the wind blades arc and curve, towards him and the rest of the group. Everyone sprang into action, ducking and diving the blades, although they proved to be relentless. Gamabunta was the most hard pressed to dodge. Kushina had enough and brought her katana in an overhead slash, cleaving one in two. For a second it looked like it worked, until the halves exploded in a hail of needles, igniting the others in a serious of overlapping explosions. When everything died down, the group, even Gamabunta, lay injured on the ground. Though with a quick glance, she confirmed everyone was still breathing. Her entire body ached, her uniform tattered. She saw her katana laying on the ground, half obscured by the smoke billowing inside the barrier. Naruto was nowhere in sight, though she didn't know how long that was going to last.

She frantically crawled towards her katana, hand outstretched. Just as she barely touched the hilt, a familiar black and red armored boot slammed down on her wrist.

(Manafest: Impossible-end)

**"Hello...dear mother"**

She hesitantly looked up at her son, who regarded her with absolute loathing before going to one knee, putting further pressure on her wrist. She winced at the pain shooting up her arm. He looked at her silently before smearing his fingers in one of her many wounds, drawing an intricate pattern of seal arrays on her forehead. For once in her life, she didn't know what to do. After giving the seal a once over, one of his chain tails hovered near her throat.

**"Any last words...mother?"** Kushina chocked at the severity and coldness of his tone.

"I-I will always lov-"

**"GOODBYE." **At the last second, where her life would have ended, where she would never see her son or daughter again, Naruto turned around to block a strive from a blonde kunoichi.

"Naruto! Stop this!" She yelled. Whoever this kunoichi was, it seemed she was familiar with her son.

* * *

><p>"Once we're done with this thing I'm going to smack that dobe from here to Iwa." Sasuke cursed. The automaton was proving to be extremely difficult to deal with. It's surface was extremely durable, and unlike Kankurō's puppets, it was not made of hardened wood. This made the vast repertoire of fire jutsus essentially useless. Even several of the snake based jutsus he had managed to glean from Orochimaru were useless seeing as how most of them were meant for dealing poison based blows to an opponent, which was pointless against the automaton. That left his taijutsu and lightning techniques. Lee and Sakura were no better off. Sakura and Lee had no ranged jutsu to speak of, all of their combat prowess based solely on close combat. Lee didn't even carry kunai and had only a limited amount of shurikens and ninja wire, with almost no exploding tags to speak of. Sakura, while better equipped than Lee, was limited in what she could carry besides medical supplies.<p>

All in all Kugyō no haka was the worst enemy for this makeshift team to face. Add to the fact that it didn't feel pain, and used an extremely potent toxin, which was limiting the time that Sasuke could fight, the three began to feel the pressure of the fight. Lee and Sakura quickly darted around their foe, ducking and weaving through his strikes, and jumping back after the occasional poisonous gas cloud.

"How many exploding tags do you have left Sakura?" Sasuke asked, wanting to know what they could work with. Sakura briefly ran through her pack.

"Ten exploding tags left, five kunai, and fifteen shuriken." She replied.  
>at that moment the damn automaton burst from the wall, slamming Lee into a wall, before wrapping his tail around Sakura's neck and flinging her into Sasuke. The two crashed into a nearby vending stand. Sasuke tried to stand back up, but could already feel the backlash from the symptoms being repressed. His body shook as he went into a particularly violent coughing fit. He could see the blood specks on his hand already.<p>

_Dammit! Not now! Just a few more minutes!_ he cursed silently. Lee had managed to break out of the automaton's hold and batted it away, although only temporary. Sakura noticed the blood as she cleared her head from its daze.

"Sasuke! We need to get you to the hospital, NOW!" She ordered. Where Sasuke was reluctant to agree, the Automaton had other ideas as it came in, fists crashing down on where they had been a split second later.

"Aw man, for doing this Naruto, Later you gonna owe me some serious dough!"

The three turned thier heads to see a black man, clad in Kumo ANBU gear, sighing to himself as he looked out at the puppet from a rooftop.

"YO! MA'FUCKA! YOU BETTER THINK AGAIN BEFORE MESSING WITH ME BROTHA! **Fūinjutsu: Okutopasu Hōrudo!**" B rapped, spewing out globules of ink that took the form of clones of him, who proceeded to put various combined pinning holds on the automaton. It struggled briefly, before the ink swallowed it, freezing it in place.

"AW YEAH! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! DON'T WORRY FANS, NO NEED TO SHOUT!" B yelled, looking at the three with an expectant manner. He slumped his shoulders at the lack of applause. "Alright, fine...be that way, I ain't gonna whine." He said dejectedly. Kugyō no haka warped out, unbeknownst to the group.

"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded, tensing at the sight of the Kumo headband.

"SASUKE! THAT'S NO WAY TO TREAT SUCH A YOUTHFUL PERSON WHO HELPED US!" Lee said, much to the groups dismay. Sasuke swore, if he heard 'youth' one more time, he was gonna...

"Hey, you guy's know where Naruto is? I got lost when I had to take a whiz." B asked. The group face faulted at the kumo ninja's reason.

"Why are you looking for Naruto? not much good it'd do you, what with the kyuubi form he's in." Sasuke quipped back. At the mention of Kyuubi, B instantly grew serious and closed the distance between them in a blink.

"Where is he?" He all but demanded, raps forgotten. The group shrinked back except for Sasuke, who stood his ground.

"Why? You gonna try to take him to Kumo? huh? You gonna use him like a slave?" Sasuke challenged. B grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him in the air.

"Look punk, I'm not gonna ask again, I'm a friend, and the longer he keeps fighting, the faster his clock starts ticking." B stated. The group's eyes widened in realization.

"He's by the western gates!" Sakura answered, pointing in the general direction. B nodded and let Sasuke down before flinging a vial Sakura's way, who caught it.

"That's the antidote, use it sparingly. After that, rest, cause everything hurts like a ma'fucka afterwards." he said, before dashing off.

* * *

><p>"Why are you doing this Naruto?" Yugito pleaded. Naruto batted her away with NULL.<p>

**"I'm only doing to them what they deserve!"** he roared, before turning back to Kushina. At that moment, B burst through the barrier, his eight tails activated and pulled Naruto into a full nelson. **"Not you too B!" **He yelled in agitation.**  
><strong>

"Stop man, stop the fight, This ain't right!" B tried to reason, before Naruto suplexed him and jumped away, only to be tackled to the ground by Yugito in full Two Tails form.

**"STOP IT NARUTO! WHAT ABOUT HIKARI!" **She pleaded. Naruto threw her off of him.

**"LEAVE HIKARI OUT OF THIS!"** he roared dodging out of the way of a now fully merged Eight Tails B. He wasn't as lucky though as two other tails caught him and wrapped themselves around him.  
><strong>"IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH HIKARI! YOU KNOW THAT!" <strong>Yugito retorted. **"YOU'RE KILLING YOURSELF! YOU ONLY HAVE FOUR YEARS LEFT AS IT IS, DON'T YOU THINK HIKARI WOULD BE DEVASTATED KNOWING YOU'RE PURPOSELY HURTING YOURSELF!" **

**"SHUT UP!"**

**"NO, WE WON'T!"**

**"I'M DOING THIS FOR HER! IF NOT FOR THEM, SHE WOULD STILL HAVE A MOTHER!"** He screamed vehemently.

**"SHE DOESN'T CARE THOUGH! SHE HAS YOU, AND THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS TO HER!"**

**"FOR HOW LONG? For how long Yugito...HOW LONG TILL SHE'S ALONE! IF IT WEREN'T FOR THEM, SHE WOULDN'T BE CRYING AT NIGHT, FEARING THE DAY I DIE!" **Everyone sat in silence, those who had not heard of Naruto's condition shocked.**  
><strong>

**"..."  
><strong>

**"Kami...It hurts so much Yugito, B. You don't know what its like, feeling helpless."  
><strong>

**"You're the one that's still hurting Naruto...You've never gotten over her, have you?" **Yugito asked. Naruto's silence only proved her point.**  
><strong>

**"I can... I can still see her sometimes, how she pleaded to see Hikari. She knew, she knew she was going to die the more I think about it...I did too, but, I didn't want to believe it at the time. Kami it hurts so bad sometimes I just, I just want it to end." **He admited. Yugito slowly trudged up to him, one of her tails gently touching his forehead.**  
><strong>

**"It's gonna be okay now Naruto. We're here for you. Sleep, it's gonna be okay now."** She cooed, Naruto slumped slightly, his armor breaking away like glass before fading away, showing his sleeping face marred by tear streaks. The two Jinchuriki's reverted back to thier human form, B carrying Naruto over his shoulder gently. The two walked away, Yugito searching his person for the seal-key, opening a 'door' in the field.**  
><strong>

"WAIT!" The two stopped as Kushina hoisted herself up by her katana, her eyes pleading. "Where are you going with my son!"

"Home. Your son it seems has no wish to see you nor his former prison, though after knowing of his past, Ms. Uzumaki, I cannot fault him." Yugito replied coolly, before heading through the door, soon followed by B. Kushina ran to the door as it faded.

"No NO NO NO!" She screamed as she frantically searched the area the door was as it disappeared. She collapsed to her knees sobbing into the dirt.

* * *

><p>Konohagakure, Three days since Naruto's return.<p>

The Hokage tower was bustling with activity as the team awaited Inoichi to bring his daughter in for a briefing on what she saw when her soul self entered Naruto. The tension was thick, especially between Kushina and Tsunade. Ever since Kushina heard from a cornered Kakashi what Naruto had meant. After the mention of what he was put through and that it might have been Tsunade's fault, lets just say they were lucky Kushina didn't try to kill the sannin then and there.

Soon everyone's patience was rewarded as Ino stepped in along with her father. Their delay was understandable as several areas of Konoha were being rebuilt, they managed to play it off as a group of mercenaries launching a surprise attack against Tsunade from angry ROOT supporters. Luckily no one was able to actually see Naruto arrive and literally wipe the floor with them as they had all evacuated to the underground safety bunkers by then.

"So, Ino, before we get started, are you feeling any better?" Tsunade asked. Kushina looked like she was going to interrogate the poor girl to get the answers out of her. Ino hugged her sides as she shivered slightly.

"Honestly, no. I'd think I'd rather go mad rather than be unaffected by those type of things." She replied.

"Can you tell us what you saw?" Tsunade asked gently, not wanting to push their only lead too far. Ino shook her head, much to Kushina's aggrivation.

*BAM*

Everybody jumped as Kushina bashed her fist on the desk, denting it considerably. Well, Except for Sasuke, who was in a wheelchair at the time due to exhaustion, who just wheeled back a little.

"WHAT DO YA MEAN YOU CAN'T TELL US! YOU ARE THE ONLY LEAD WE HAVE TO KNOWING ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SON, AND YOU'RE TELLING ME YOU DON'T KNOW?" Kushina screamed. Inoichi stood in front of his daughter.

"Kushina! That's enough! She's still heavily traumatized from the events!" Kushina only relented when Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder, his hand clenching slightly silently telling her that he was anxious as well, but to be patient. She huffed but sat back down.

"Is there any way you can share the events, Ino? If not verbally?" Tsunade asked. Ino pondered a bit before nodding her head.

"I could...share the events, through a group mental link, if that would be okay?" She asked, everyone nodded their consent. Ino came forward and started drawing a temporary relay seal on Tsunade's desk. "Everyone, put your hand on each orbiting kanji word for 'link', then I'll be able to share the events. Its a progression that lasts about three minutes real time, but it may seem longer. Once it starts, you can't break away, no matter what you see, okay?" Everyone nodded and placed their hands on the relay points. ANBU guards secured a perimeter around the office. Ino reluctantly olaced her hand on the middle of the seal.

"Lets begin."

* * *

><p>Kushina could feel it, like a storm flowing through her collective thoughts, before bieng swept up into the tide.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Pain, it was omnipotent, he could still feel the blood, flowing out of his and painting the water around him in a crimson bath. He gasped for breath, but felt pain with each gasp. He couldn't. <em>

_One thought was universal in his head.  
><em>

_WHY?_

* * *

><p>She gasped inwardly. She could feel it, the hole in her chest, the absence of her left arm. She was afraid of what was next, and she could tell, the others were too. The rush came back, but instead of an overpowering flow, it came haphazardly like choppy waves.<p>

* * *

><p><em>They were grotesque, but he couldn't help but feel pity for them. Their anatomy was haphazard, fused with some. They cried, asking to be let out until a voice over the speakers came on as the cages open.<em>

_"Subject of the snake. Today, we offer you FREEDOM! All we ask of you, is to defeat this man! Take his life, and you shall be granted your freedom!" The lights bathed me in blinding white, and they rushed at me. They cried, they sang. They were going to be free. They screamed at me to just die.  
><em>

_I tried to reason with them. I tried. They wouldn't listen.  
><em>

_What happened next, I would tell myself was necessary._

* * *

><p>She could feel tears flowing down her cheeks. How could she have let this happen to her son? Before she could steel herself, the next one came.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Screaming didn't help. It seemed to give the surgeon a sick smile of satisfaction. So he stopped. He gritted his teeth. <em>

_The surgeon just took it as a challenge.  
><em>

_It wasn't long till he couldn't scream anymore..._

* * *

><p>If not for the binding effect of the jutsu, she would have collapsed there on the spot. She couldn't steel herself for what was next.<p>

* * *

><p><em>"She's moved on boy. She replaced you, she doesn't give a SHIT what happens to you anymore."<em>

_His words rang hollow. It just seemed so surreal. She was alive a second ago and now...  
><em>

_Her heart wouldn't beat anymore...  
><em>

_Kami wouldn't save her, his prayers were never answered...  
><em>

_It seemed the Shinigami was the only absolute...  
><em>

_No matter how much he wanted...  
><em>

_She was never coming back..._

* * *

><p>She wanted to die. She was disgusted with herself.<p>

* * *

><p><em>"See boy, she signed you off to us, you belong to US now."<em>

_It was her signature, her very chakra...  
><em>

_He didn't want to believe it...  
><em>

_He couldn't...  
><em>

_But it was the truth..._

* * *

><p>Everyone collapsed at the end of the jutsu, everyone in varying states of distress. Kushina grabbed Tsunade and slammed her into the wall, almost breaking it.<em><br>_

"YOU BITCH! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" She screamed.

"YOU IDIOT! DO YOU REALLY THINK I WOULD DO THAT TO SOMEONE I CONSIDER A GRANDSON?" Tsunade replied heatedly, in a similar state of distress, shoving her off. "SHIZUNE, give me all papers that required my signature in the week of the incident, I want them as of five minutes ago!" She ordered. She turned to Kushina, "I don't know how they got my signature, but we're getting to the bottom of it. And I assure you, once we find the bastards responsible, they're as good as DEAD." She replied vehemently. Kushina sombered down and went over to Tsuki and Hinata, who were bawling their eyes out.

"Hinata-chan," Kushina asked, "Hikaru, is she?" Hinata nodded.

"Yes, she's your *hic* grand-daughter" Hinata sobbed.

"Then, th-tha woman that Onii-chan was holding..." Tsuki sobbed, to which Hinata nodded. Kushina hugged them tight, the three crying loudly.

"My poor baby..."

* * *

><p><strong>I'm sorry If the battle seemed anticlimactic, I wanted to portray Yugito and B as sort of the older sibling of reason. Hope you enjoyed it! Please<strong>** review! And no flames!**

* * *

><p>Original Jutsu's and moves<p>

**Washi no kama**

**Class: B  
><strong>

**Affinity: Wind  
><strong>

**Description: An airborne series of spinning kicks utilizing wind chakra for increased force on impact. Can be used to create air crescent waves, though they have no tracking ability  
><strong>

**Weaknesses: Puts a serious strain on the body, can prove deadly for those whose bodies have not undergone serious training.  
><strong>

**XXXXXXX**

******Fūton:** Kyōfū no kokonotsu no kama****

****Class: S  
><strong>**

****Affinity: Wind  
><strong>**

****Description: Unleashes nine crescent waves of molded wind chakra that can be controlled from a distance and detonated if wished. Upon detonation, they unleash a hail of micro-shrapnel consisting of chakra needles.  
><strong>**

****Weaknesses: N****aruto can only perform this move in Kyuubi mode. ****Has a large blast area, and is really unwieldy in battle when fighting in a unit.  
><strong>**


	7. Scars of the Past

**For all my reader's, thank you for your wonderful feedback. I love it when I hear that my readers like my stories, but I am even more grateful when a reader kindly points out any shortcomings that I can fix. I must admit, the last chapter I was afraid to publish. Battles have never been my forte, (though I am glad that some readers have liked them so far) especially when such a diverse selection of characters are involved. When faced with such a task and such varying characters, I became flat footed and stumbled over my words. So thank you, dear readers, for not being afraid to point out my flaws. Each chapter for me is a learning experience, and I hope to improve even more for you readers so that you may fully enjoy this story.**

**AN: Just watched THE AVENGERS three weeks ago. It...was...FUCKING AWESOME! It surprised my friend when we went to go see it just how many women were in the theater as well. But considering the cast line up, it was pretty expected.**

**AN2: From now on I will be updating "Smile before he's gone" once every month at least, since I am far behind on my other stories and rewrites. Please note that with college, and my new job that I may not be able to do so every month, but on those that I have missed I will make up on. So my dear readers, please be patient with me.  
><strong>

**So with that, here is the seventh chapter!**

**The race is on to find who the real culprit is! The question is, will finding them actually change things? Naruto has changed so much, his friends, and a certain Hyuga, ponder if their old friend they knew is in there at all? Read on to find out!(Note: it has a slow start and mostly focuses on the Konoha 11 and co.)  
><strong>

** Enjoy and review, and please, no flames!**

* * *

><p><em>"Wake up sleepy head!"<strong><br>**_

_ He groaned as at the voice, forcing his eyes open. He flinched back at the blinding light assaulting his eyes. As his sight slowly focused into view, he took notice of a warmth on his side. He turned his head to gaze at her as she smiled at him, using his shoulder as a pillow.  
><em>

_"About time! I'm not heavy, are I?" she asked, her eyes bouncing with energy. He chuckled.  
><em>

_"No, I like it." He replied. He lay there for a while, enjoying the wind whisping about the field and the shade the tree offered. It was amazing how much you enjoy the little things after being depraved of them...  
><em>

_"I hope I'm not dreaming."  
><em>

_He turned to her, confused. She giggled a little at his expression. "What do you mean?" She snuggled into his shoulder more, letting out a sigh of contentment._

_"This. Getting away from that place, laying here with you. It...it almost seems to good to be true...I'm afraid, afraid that one time when I open my eyes, I'll still be in that cage..." She confided. He wrapped his arms around her comfortingly.  
><em>

_"It's not a dream. We are free. And I promise you...that we will never go back." He assured her. She smiled up at him gratefully, before pecking him on the lips.  
><em>

_"Thanks...my knight in shining armor..."_

* * *

><p>He woke up with a gasp. He hated sleeping. The dreams were always so...vivid. Lifelike. They were mostly flashes, bits and pieces of his personal hell, assembled like a poor film editor's project, scenes form here and there pieced together. But, none like this...<p>

His heart clenched at the memory, before the ache that seemed present throughout his whole body flared up, causing him to hiss in pain before easing himself down. He was laying in his recovery room, the family medical supplies spread out on a side table. He was once again wrapped in bandaging. His chakra prosthetic was detached and put next to the sink, battered and scuffed. He fingered the attachment socket on his left side.

It was funny, even after all the memories associated with it's attachment, he felt an odd sense of loss whenever he removed it. Before he could dwell on this any further, Hikari, Yugito, and B entered the room. Hikari was dressed up in a little nurse's costume, complete with little white dress shoes and stockings and nurse's cap, her blonde hair tucked into two pig tails. He chuckled a bit, she always liked playing doctor, or nurse in this case, and had taken to wearing that whenever she helped him with his wounds. Hikari, who had been talking with Yugito while carrying a few rolls of gauze, started at the sound of her father's voice. She whipped her head around so fast, Naruto could have sworn he heard a crack. He eyes widened before flooding with tears. She dropped the rolls of gauze and canon balled into her father, bawling into his chest.

"DADDY! *hic* when unclwe B and *hic* auntie Yugi brought you back *hic*..I WAS SO SCARED!" She wailed. Naruto held her tighter in his right arm, his heart wrenching at the thought of making his daughter cry.

"Hush now, I'm sorry dear. I'm fine now, I swear." He consoled her. Yugito came over with a stern expression set on her face, her otherwise beautiful complexion marred by her scowl.

*WHACK*

"You...YOU IDIOT!" She scolded as she whacked Naruto upside the back of his head. "What were you thinking? A group of leaf nin follow you home after a battle, and you go with them back to Konoha?" She asked exasperated. She sighed. "And whats worse, as soon as you get there you start raising all kinds of hell, WHILE YOU'RE STILL INJURED? I AM SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING GIVING YOU THE BEATING OF A LIFETIME!" She admonished.

Hikari had detached herself from her father and stood beside Yugito, nodding her head at certain points of the scolding, a cute but angry pout on her face. Yugito didn't stop there though. "And then, as if that wasn't enough, YOU GO BAT SHIT KYUUBI ON THEM? I-oh, Hikari, never say that word, got it?" She paused in mid lecture to address the girl, who nodded. "Now where was I? Oh yeah, THANK KAMI WE WERE ABLE TO GET THERE BEFORE YOU STOPPED TOYING WITH THEM AND ACTUALLY STARTED KILLING! I MEAN, KILLING A KAGE? AS WELL AS A CLAN HEAD? DID YOU EVEN THINK THAT THROUGH? WHAT IF YOU ACTUALLY DID IT? HOW MUCH HARDER DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE FOR YOU AND HIKARI TO CONTINUE ON WITH YOUR DAILY LIVES? CONSTANTLY EVADING HUNTER NIN FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?" She huffed, spent from her tirade.

"I'm sorry." Naruto replied, bowing his head slightly. He hadn't been thinking at the time. While the thought of revenge had been a sweet one, he hadn't spared a thought to the consequences of his actions had he actually done the deed.

Why hadn't he? He recounted numerous times where he could have done it, a slice, a quick thrust, and it be done. No, it wasn't that. The thought that she had lived happily while he had suffered had made him want to make her suffer, to draw it out as long as he could. But at the end, why did he hesitate? He knew it was Yugito, and that kunai could hardly have hurt him When he and the Kyuubi were in sync. If he had pressed on, he would have done it. Yet, somewhere in the back of his mind, something said "no."

He was brought out of his musings when Yugito and Hikari hugged him, B clapping him on the shoulder reassuringly.

"Idiot. Making us worry." Yugito mumbled. Naruto chuckled.

"That reminds me, how did you guys get past the barrier?" He asked, that particular thought bugging him. B shook his head while Yugito sighed.

"Yo man, you really need to watch your stuff, you brought one whole wall down in one big huff!" B answered, which, when translated, said: _You really gotta improve that barrier. Your tailed beast ball blast brought down a section of the wall, letting us in._

Naruto smacked his forehead in irritation. It had been a stretch, making a barrier that big without straining it's density. He thought that it would be up to the task, but obviously he would need to tweak it in its dispersion relays. "So, B, you not gonna scold me too?" Naruto teased. B shook his head.

"Nah, its okay, every once in a while shit hits the fan, but big bro wants to talk to ya man to man." He replied. Naruto paled. No, he couldn't mean...

*crash*

"You really need to make these doors wider." A complained as he patted dust off of his shoulder, a now muscle man shaped hole passing for the doorway. Naruto groaned into his hand.

"Anything else I should fix while I'm at it?" He asked, half annoyed half exasperated. A's visits always ended up like this.

"Just the patio chair."

"And the couch."

"And the dining room table."

"The sink."

"The counter top"

The front door."

"And the-"

"ALL RIGHT I GET IT!" He yelled, throwing his arm in the air, provided that the other was still detached on the table. He sighed, "Alright, so what'd you wanna talk about A? Unless you just came to break things for me to fix?" he asked. A's face took on a serious tone...no, wait, that's just his normal face...

"Why is it that I have numerous requests/threats from your mother to disclose any information about my involvement with you and your location? Hmmm?" He all but demanded. Naruto, Yugito and B sweat-dropped, chuckling nervously.

"Eh heh heh heh, well, see, the thing is, I went to Konoha to settle a personal vendetta and lost control a bit, and Yugito and B bailed me out. I'm...sorry?" He confessed, scratching the back of his head. A didn't respond. The silence stretched out for several minutes, causing the three jinchurikis to grow even more nervous. A snorted and walked closer to the bed, and wrapped Naruto in a hug, slightly freaking him out, and let out a sigh, until he heard what A said next.

"FORGIVENESS SUPLEX!"

Naruto just avoided having his head driven into the floor by bracing himself with his right hand and arching his body similar to A's, making a double arch. After a few minutes A let go and stood back up straight.

"YOU FUCKING IDIOT! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?" Naruto yelled. "Oh, honey, never say that word." He lectured Hikari after recovering slightly.

"Hmph, no need to get so upset. You're still alive after all."

"BARELY!"

* * *

><p>Tsunade looked wearily, though diligently through the stack of papers on her desk. She had set aside all other village matters to deal with this predicament. She would get to the bottom of this, even if it killed her. Shizune and Kakashi had similar, if slightly less big, piles set up on desks adjacent to her. They had worked around the clock, well into the morning without breaks, except for the occasional bathroom trip or when Shizune or Tsunade were needed at the hospital.<p>

Which, provided, was rare. The ANBU operatives that did require medical attention only suffered from the odd broken bone and the occasional fracture. Tsunade smiled at the recollection of how all the ANBU were amongst the least badly hurt in the entire fight, Kushina and Tsunade herself took the cake. Naruto drew a lot of mixed opinions from her task force because of this. Several believed he was looking down on them, while others thought the boy had no intention of collateral deaths. All in all the situation was entirely amusing. Her grin soon faded though after her 1709th paper and still no lead on who was behind the whole incident!

"GAH! This is hopeless! We're no closer to finding the culprit than before!" Tsunade huffed in irritation, throwing several stacks of papers into the air. Shizune shook her head before going to retrieve the discarded papers. After traveling with Tsunade for the better part of her life, she had come to understand the sannin even better than herself. And despite her calm and patience associated with her duties, when it came to things like this she easily became frustrated at herself. She set the papers back down on her desk and patted her shoulder reassuringly, while Kakashi offered his own two cents.

"We can't give up yet, Tsunade-sama. We can't let whoever did those things to Naruto walk away unscathed." Kakashi said. He looked more haggard than the other two, and had hardly taken any breaks during the search. There was an already prominent bag under his visible eye, and his otherwise gravity defying hair was flopping slightly over his forehead, as if mirroring his exhaustion. Shizune nodded in assurance.

Tsunade looked at the two before her face took on a more mournful tone. "I know...it's just, we've combed through almost every document in the Hokage archives, and yet we still haven't found any clues on how those bastards got my signature!" She huffed, throwing aside the paper she was currently finished with. "Even now, Shikamaru's team is combing through whats left of Danzo's old estate, while Jiraiya is snooping through old ROOT hideouts trying to find evidence that Naruto was held in there. Yet, they haven't reported back any findings!" She pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation, futilely trying to hide the tears that had started to well up in her eyes.

"How about if we narrow it down to any shinobi or security related documents from the first three days after the incident? From the snippets of Naruto's recollections it seems they showed him it at the start before the regime he underwent." Kakashi offered. Shizune nodded, not waiting for Tsunade to affirm the decision, scooping up papers that did not fit in that category.

"Right on it!" as Shizune was carting away the papers to the archive room, she could not help but wonder how everybody else was doing...

* * *

><p>The Hyuga compound had an odd tension in the air, and everyone seemed aware of it. Many of the clan members milled nervously about the compound, most leaving to escape the tense atmosphere.<p>

Neji was currently busy battering away several practice dummies to oblivion. many of the clan members had fled when the ANBU captain had asked for a sparring partner. Neji had a famous reputation for being merciless and not holding back. Today was far worse. The poor dummies were decimated, and mind you these these things were god damn near impossible to break, Gai would have a challenge breaking one of these. As Neji left forth an absolutely devastating blow that rendered the last standing dummy to splinters, he took a break and wandered to a side table to get a drink. His throat and chest burned and his arms felt like lead, but still he felt restless, like he would be wasting time if he sat idle.

After taking a look around, only now did he notice how empty the gym was, before going to the storage room and retrieving another training dummy.

"Can't rest hotshot?" He turned around to see his love and his wife, Ten ten, clad in her casual clothes staring at him from the entryway. He merely nodded before setting up the dummy and continuing to practice. For a while, the only sound that he heard was the constant thumps of his fists hitting the chakra enhanced wood doll. It was like a crescendo, constantly picking up momentum until he was a blur, the sounds of the impacts overlapping each other. He only stopped when he had to rest to catch his second wind. As he wound his arm back to start his tempo again, Ten ten stopped him, grabbing his arm.

"What's wrong?" She asked, her eyes showing concern and a determination that would not budge.

"Nothing" He bit back.

"Bull shit." She replied, startling the otherwise mannered Hyuga with her vulgarity.

"Ten ten! It is unbecoming for a woman to-"

"It is unbecoming when a husband won't answer his wife truthfully, now spill!" Ten ten interrupted. One look was all Neji needed to confirm that her wife would not budge and would rather fight tooth and nail than drop the subject. He sighed in defeat, musing over his thoughts.

"Well?" She asked, becoming impatient.

"I...had too much coffee this morning?" He offered, though by the 'Are you serious?' look she was throwing at him, it apparently wasn't going to cut it. She decided to switch tactics, adopting a sad remorseful face, cuddling into his chest and looking up at him with the dreaded jutsu that all men hated and would bend them to their will. The Puppy dog eyes jutsu.

"Honey...please, tell me whats wrong?" She pleaded. Neji caved, cursing his wife in his head.

"...*mumble* uto..*mumble*..." he mumbled.

"What?" she asked. He sighed.

"Naruto. Or more accurately, what we saw..." He elaborated. Ten ten gave a look of understanding, but remained silent to allow him to continue. He shuddered slightly at the recollection, and drew her closer. "When...when I think of what happened to Naruto... I keep remembering that one scene...except, instead, its me holding you, Ten ten." He sighs. "I thought that, with Hinata being clan head and the clan no longer segregated, we could start a family without the fear that our child would be branded like me..."

Ten ten nodded. It was the reason why Neji had initially been so hesitant to start any relationship. Knowing the shackles that being a branch member entailed, neither of them had wanted to bring a child into the world with that burden. A month ago though Neji had finally agreed to start a family. Though whether or not these efforts brought fruit was too soon to tell.

He sighed before continuing. "But...THAT...still happened to Naruto, under our very noses...Who's to say something similar won't happen to our child? huh!...I guess what I'm trying to say...Is that I'm afraid, afraid that the same thing could happen to our family..."

Ten ten hugged his shaking form, caressing his back in silent comfort. What was there to say? Don't worry, that will never happen to us? The same thing could happen to them at any moment. It was a truth that many of them ignored their lives. The citizens of each Shinobi village were assets to be used in the petty squabbles of politics and those in control. Pawns of the playing board. It was an unspoken and often ignored rule.

The user didn't care how many pawns died to get to the other side of the board, they only cared once they turned into something of value. Whether it be rook, knight, bishop, or queen.

Naruto was just the first pawn to come back...

* * *

><p>The Uchiha compound was silent, except for the cries of frustration echoing from its epicenter. The training grounds were the focus of a young heir's anger.<p>

How could he?

A man who viewed him as his own brother...

One who understood his pain...

HOW COULD HE HAVE DONE THAT TO HIM?

"RAAAAAGGHHHH!" With a furious cry he sliced through the last sparring dummy, rendering it inert from the might of his blade. Electricity cackled menacingly around him, in tandem with the flurry of emotions coursing through him. His body still ached from the after effects of the poison, but it did little to nothing to quell the self loathing and anger welling up inside of him.

"You should be resting Sasuke-kun!"

He turned towards the scolding voice of his team mate. Sakura looked no better than him, haggard with dark circles under her eyes pointed towards a similar state of distress. He turned away, continuing his exercise without heed after setting up the next round of targets.

"Sasuke! You need to REST!" She persisted. She would not see him hurt himself like this. He did not heed her words and ignored her. She huffed and strode forward, cautious of the swinging arcs of his blade, yet still striding forward purposely. On the back swing of another kata, she gripped his forearm, stopping him. He glared angrily at her over her shoulder.

"Let. Go." He bit out. Sakura merely tightened her grip in response, defiant. "Dammit Sakura-"

"SHUT UP!" The Uchiha was a bit blown back by her retort. Even though they had made leaps and bounds from them just being team mates to being romantically involved, Sakura had yet to break out of her docile habits when near him. That is, except when he pissed her off...or made flat chest remarks. Nevertheless, to see such spitfire in her was unusual. Yet, despite the fire in her eyes, she was shaking...

"Do you think you're the only one that's angry with themselves? How do you think I feel? Treating him horribly like that when we were teammates? Don't you dare go off and shoulder all the blame on yourself! I was the one who used his feelings to go after you! I-"

"YOU WEREN'T THE ONE WHO NEARLY KILLED HIM!" He angrily cut her off. He broke away from her, looking down at his shaking hands. "W-With these hands...I maimed him, i tore into him...K-kami, I can still feel the blood even now..." He whispered. He felt her hands on his shoulders, before cupping his face and bringing it up to look at her. Her emerald eyes were marred by tears that streaked down her face. He didn't realize it until now, but he too, was also crying. Wiping his cheeks with her thumbs, she closed her arms around him, inviting him into her comforting embrace.

They stood like that for the longest time, wishing that they could have gone back and make things right...

* * *

><p>Kurenai Sarutobi <strong>(AN: Quick note, since the Akatsuki act up later on, Asuma has not died either, and as a result he married Kurenai and had a son(he's 3). That is all)<strong> put her son to bed before walking towards the kitchen to prepare some drinks for herself and her guest.

"What would you care to drink Ms. Hyuga-san?" She asked over her shoulder. Hinata, already looking uncomfortable, grew even more red.

"Kurenai-san! You don't have to call me that! Just Hinata!" She replied indignantly. Another thing she had inherited from the blonde jinchuriki besides his willpower, his disregard for status when addressing friends or family. Kurenia chuckled at her former student's behavior.

"I'm sorry Hinata-chan, it just seemed appropriate. So, what would you care to drink?" The Genjutsu mistress replied.

"Oh, green tea please."

The mother just nodded an affirmative before setting the kettle to boil. She noticed several dishes were yet to be washed. She chided Asuma for his laziness in her head before setting to cleaning them. For a while, everything was silent, and oh, how Kurenai relished these moments. They allowed her to wind down and mull things over in her head.

It was funny, a couple years back she had never pictured herself as a housewife, and yet took to it quite easily. Anko said it was due to the fact that she was always a busybody when it came to cleaning or keeping things tidy. After the dishes were put away she washed her hands free of dishwater and picked the now whistling kettle off of the stove. After pouring a cup of green tea for Hinata, and one for herself as well while she was at it, took a seat and clasped the cup in her hands, both to take comfort in the drink's warmth and to wait for Hinata to start. Hinata had always come to her for advice or to vent out her frustrations at. Hinata had come to view Kurenai as a mother, and she her daughter. Who could blame her? Her real mother had died shortly after giving birth to her sister, and her father had remained emotionally detached since then. Her sibling and relatives at the time were no help either in that department...

"Wh-What should I d-do...Kurenai-san?" She asked hesitantly. Kurenai's eyes widened. This was new. Hinata rarely stuttered anymore, unless she was in severe emotional distress. But nowadays, the only time that happened was on the anniversary of Naruto's "death," which the Konoha now knew...

"This is about Naruto isn't it?" Kurenai stated more than asked. Hinata nodded. Her hands grasping her cup shook, ever so slightly...

"I just...He's changed so much, Kurenai-san..." she replied.

"Well of course, everyone changes with the passage of time, its called growing up."

Hinata shook her head. "No...I-I mean...it's like, I do-don't even recognize Nar-Naruto-kun anymore Kurenai-san!" She replied.

"What were you expecting Hinata?" She pressed. Hinata looked down at her forgotten cup, her mind in turmoil.

"...I don't know...B-But nothing like this...Naruto was so full of hope, of courage...I remember that every time I looked into his blue eyes, it was like...l-looking into a roaring flame that refused to go out!" Hinata recalled, her strength swelling from the fond recollection.

"And now?" Hinata seemed to deflate a bit at this question.

"N-now...they're empty. Whenever I look into his eyes...I-I see this mass of pain and anger...its scary. E-Even when he smiles a-at me, it feels as if its forced..." She stated, depressed. She started a bit when Kurenai laid her hand over hers. She took a deep breath, she hated what she was about to tell her pseudo-daughter, but it was for her benefit.

"Hinata, tell me. Are you still in love with the Naruto you remember?" Hinata looked like a deer caught in the headlights, eyes wide and blushing feverently at her Sensei's serious face. Her eyes darted around as she mulled it over before replying timidly.

"Y-yes..." She answered, staring a hole into the table.

"Than give up." Hinata whipped her head up aghast at Kurenai.

"Wha! What d-do you-" She replied.

"You said it yourself, this Naruto is not the one you remember. Why chase after a shell that will never be?" She said, hated how her voice sounded devoid of emotion.

"Bu-But" Hinata stuttered, tears welling up in her eyes and making Kurenai's heart twist. She got up from her chair and strode over to Hinata, cupping her face and kneeling in front of her.

"Hinata, I'm not saying this to be cruel, I'm saying it because you need to hear it." Kurenai told her. Hinata sniffed and nodded. "If you try to pursue Naruto with this mindset, you'll only be hurt in the end. Your love for Naruto seven years ago, you need to come to terms with it. Okay?" Hinata nodded, her tears still flowing but stemmed somewhat. "That Naruto that you fell for, is no more. We know that, first hand from that day." She continued, referring to the memory transfer. She shuddered at the slight recollection and with guilt noticed that it drew more tears from the girl. "Now you need to decide dear. Will you be stuck in those memories of an unfruitful love, or will try to start anew with this chance Kami graced us with before time runs out?" Hinata wiped her puffy eyes, determination setting in.

"I-I wanna start over." She replied. Kurenai smiled, before it turned into a mischievous smirk.

"Plus, it helps that he turned into quite the handsome man over the years." She teased. Hinata lit up a shade of red so bright she looked like a tomato.

"Kurenai-san! First Ino-chan, now you?" She said dismayed. Kurenai chuckled as she went to put her cup in the sink.

"What? I'm just stating a fact." As Kurenai busied herslef with some cleaning, Hinata looked pensively at her left hand, flaring her chakra slightly to reveal the hastily drawn array of seals that he had put on her hand. A key, he had told her. She asked herself...

_Should I tell them?_

* * *

><p>"Mom, where are you? Oh! There you are...What are you doing mom?" Tsuki asked as she strolled into her mother's room, only to walk in on her mother packing several bags. Kushina looked like she was ready for war. Besides her old ANBU gear and her trademark katana strapped to her back, she had numerous canvas pouches that stored kunai and shuriken, loops of ninja wire, and a multitude of storage scrolls. Said red head was currently busying herself packing several travel bags.<p>

She didn't even look at her daughter as she replied. "I'm heading to Kumo, those shinobi that took Naruto with them had Kumo headbands. Thier Raikage has already denied any claim I have made of thier involvement, so I'm gonna go and find out myself." She stated, violently shoving in the last of her supplies.

"Have you asked Tsunade-sama about this mom?" Kurenai shook her head.

"She would get in my way." She replied curtly.

"Mother-"

"She wouldn't understand!" Kushina cut her off, whipping her head around to face her daughter, tear streaks marring her face. "She wouldn't understand!...Tsuki, honey...we both waited years to see Naruto again...And after all these years, we finally get to see him again...Only for those blasted Kumo nin to take him away again." She angrily spat, clenching a spare tanto so hard that Tsuki thought that it might break. She stopped when she felt her daughters hands on her shoulders.

Tsuki was in a similar state, her form quivering as tears fell from her eyes. "Ever since you told me I had a brother, I dreamed every day of meeting him mom. I wanted to play with him, to do things every child does with their siblings...play together, help each other with homework...even fighting over meaningless things..."

Kushina hugged her daughter. "Yes! See? Now c'mon! I packed a spare travel bag for you!" She said turning towards the previously forgotten bags. Tsuki's hand stopped her.

"But no matter how much I want to go after Onii-chan...How he acted, how he hated us...was justified. Mom, I understand your reasons and I don't want to sound heartless...but you left him-"

"I-I WAS GOING TO COME BACK!" Kushina screamed angrily, tears running anew.

"BUT YOU DIDN'T MOM! FACT WAS, IT HAPPENED!" Her daughter screamed back, unperturbed by her mother's anger. "Mom, I don't hate you, but had Onii-chan and I switched places, I think I would feel the same way." Kushina broke away from her and sat down on her bed, cradling her face in her hands.

For several moments, the silence stretched on, until Tsuki could barely make out the sounds of her mother sobbing. It was heart wrenching, seeing you beloved mother crying, partially due to you. Tsuki went over to her, though hardly knew how to comfort her, and just settled on rubbing her back while holding her mother close.

"*Hic*..W-what should I-I-I do? *Hic*...I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON! I'M A TERRIBLE MOTHER!" She wailed. Tsuki just held her tighter.

Since in all honesty, she didn't know the answer to that...

* * *

><p>Tsunade felt her eyelids growing heavier as the day wore on. The light that streamed in through the blinds of her office window had long since turned a lavender purple, twilight had set in. While narrowing down the search had lessened thier workload considerably, it was still a surmountable size. That, added in with the fact that they were already drained from thier previous search.<p>

A shadow whisped to the side of them before an ANBU appeared kneeling before her desk. None of the three were startled by it, ANBU had came in several occasions during thier search to update them at the lack of progress.

"Report." She declared, annoyed at her own lack of results.

"Hokage-sama. A council member has turned himself into custody." The Ram masked ANBU replied. Short, and to the point. Tsunade arched an eyebrow.

"On what charges?" She asked, perplexed. While she had ordered several ANBU to discretely investigate former and current Council members, they had not been direct in their searches or their reasons for it.

"Council member Rūku Yama, from the Shinobi R&D section, has confessed to participating in the enactment of Protocol 87 ALPHA on Genin Naruto Uzumaki of the Leaf."

You could hear a pin drop in the silence that ensued. Kakashi, ANBU-san, and Shizune looked on in fear at Tsuande's frighteningly blank face. Cursing, table flipping, destruction, those they could handle from her. But this eerie silence was even more frightening from the normally brash woman.

"Call in the others. I want him brought to interrogation room 462 in an hour." She stated, her voice devoid of emotion. The unnerved ANBU went off after a nod of confirmation.

* * *

><p>The observation room was tense. They had recieved a summons stating that one of those responsible for Naruto's situation had been discovered. Who or how had not been disclosed. Hinata and the rest of them waited in morbid curiosity, wondering just what type of scum bag had played a part in Naruto's...training...<p>

The group had various images of no good greedy scum who would file into the room. Imagine their surprise when they saw council member Rūku Yama, a well liked member of Konoha's military R&D. He was a decent sized man, with a round and jovial face. While he knew to be strict with business, he was well known amongst the clan heads for convening with them over dinner and engaging in small talk. He also didn't strut his wealth as he dressed in moderate clothing. Though as he sat down in the chair facing the door, his normally happy face looked haggard and grim.

None felt more disgusted as Konohamaru, as he had had the man over at his house for numerous occasions to share a meal. Looking back at those memories, he balked in disgust at himself. One of the men responsible for all of boss's suffering had shared his table, talked with his family! The very thought made him furious! He glanced over at Hinata and the Uzumaki's who seemed to be straining with everything they had not to march in there and kill the man where he sat.

However, who they saw enter the room to question the guest further surprised them. It was not the tall from of head interrogator Ibiki Morino who stood in front of the soon to be dead man, but the ice cold form of Tsunade, whose eyes glowed a cold amber.

She didn't sit in the seat, rather opting to stand as she flipped the table, the only barrier between them, startling the man and all the group present as she closed the gap and slugged him across the face, sending blood and spittle flying.

"...You fucking son of a bitch..." She hissed, her voice barely picked up by the rooms audio receptors, sounding raspy in the speakers of the observation room. Yama made no effort to avoid her gaze, neither frightened nor angered by the brutal sucker punch he was dealt.

Which only served to infuriate her more, and grabbed him by his throat, hauling him off his seat into the air. He spluttered and gasped, clawing at her arm to let him go. Only when his face turned an unhealthy pallor did she unceremoniously drop him onto the cold floor.

"Why?..." She ground out through clenched teeth. "Why? You, of all people, who was Sarutobi's number one supporter...Why do this?" she asked.

Councilman Yama looked down, his face one of that of haunting regret. He answered, oh so softly, that they thought they had imagined it. "I'm not going to make up excuses for mine and my colleagues actions...but just know, that what we did had only the best intentions in mind for Konoha-!"

Tsunade's left fist sent him to the floor as she ground her teeth and tried to abate her growing anger. "DON'T YOU TRY TO PULL THAT GREATER GOOD SHIT ON ME! THERE WAS NO WAR AT THE TIME, NO GLOBAL THREAT TO THE LAND OF FIRE!" She roared back into his face.

"WE WERE MAKING HIM INTO A DETERRENT! KUMO, IWA, KIRI, SUNA! WHAT DO ALL OF THOSE VILLAGES HAVE IN COMMON? JINCHURIKI THAT HAD GARNERED A FEARSOME LEVEL OF POWER AND REPUTATION! AND WHAT OF OUR OWN, HUH? A NINJA KNOWN FOR HIS IDIOCY! WE HAD TO MAKE A POINT, A SHOW OF STRENGTH, BEFORE THE OTHER NATIONS BEGAN TO GROW IDEAS!" He yelled back. After huffing a few times, to regain his breath, he continued. "Look, you and I both know that regardless, our actions are unjustified, but let me ask you this. Would you have done what we did, if it was the only way to save Konoha from another conflict? Never mind, I can already tell by your look that you couldn't... Any and all evidence you want to further hang me is in my estate."

Tsunade visibly calmed herself before she asked one more question, one that had been weighing heavily on her mind. "How did you get my signature on that document?" The councilman had the decency to look ashamed then.

"Article 725, authorizing psychiatric analysis of genin and/or chunin hopefuls on the recommendations of teachers or team mates to ensure another "Sasuke" incident does not happen. We hid a transfer seal on the back of the document under a multi-layered genjutsu. You were still in mourning of Uzumaki-san and did not notice it." Leaving the room for fear that she might kill him all to quickly, she called forth one of her ANBU.

"Deer! Have you found anything amongst his possesions?" She asked. The masked ANBU went to one knee before replying.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Though nothing incriminating has been discovered in his estate. However, there is a safe in his personal study that he has taken great care to ensure no one opens it. It may take some time to find out its contents." The ANBU said, quick and to the point. Tsunade nodded before beckoning him into the interrogation room. She walked over to the man, yanking him up by his hair to snarl in his face.

"What's the combination to the damn safe?" She hissed.

"76-4-19-32" She flung him aside to look at the ANBU.

"Got that?" The ANBU nodded. "Good, throw this piece of trash into cell block 7081-B while we sift through the safe's contents. I'll deal with him then." The ANBU nodded, and beconed for one of his team mates to open the safe while he escorted the culprit to his cell. As those in the observatory room filed out to follow Tsunade, no one noticed a small fleeting observant shadow, one moment there then gone the next.

* * *

><p>Tsunade seethed as she viewed through the medical files and treatments in the safe. Those...sick bastards. The treatments listed were performed with Naruto entirely conscious and aware of what was happening. It would have made any ANBU worth their salts a broken mess from the pain. Her fist clenched at the thought of this happening to Naruto, inadvertently crumpling the paper in her hands. Orochimaru's discovered experiments weren't nearly as sick and twisted as these. She shuddered as she recollected all of them hearing the audio tapes of the members apathetically discussing Naruto's "training," as if a spoiled child talking of one of their many pets. None were not affected by the end of them. Though what chilled her to the core the most, was what the tid bits had revealed about her late sensei...<p>

* * *

><p><em>"Subject 1009, first day."<em>

_"Danzo, are you certain of this?"_

_"My ROOT do not lie, Councilman Sardoy. When Uzumaki-san activated his biju state, several of my sensor types described it as a blinding flare. With that in mind, it was logical to find out several foreign shinobi investigating the incident seeing as how close it was to our country's borders."_

_"Did your men not try to silence the eavesdroppers, Danzo-san?"_

_"Hmph, did you expect my men to sit on their hands while this happened? No, my men took out several of the trespassers, but some were considerably skilled, and managed to slip through the cracks."_

_"Are you truly certain this must be done Danzo? Is there not another method? Surely one not as drastic as-"_

_"I understand your concern, councilman Yama. But know this, Hiruzen, my senile old friend, was well aware of the burden and responsibilities of a Jinchuriki, and had planned to enact a similar regime, if not more gradual, early on. However, he became sentimental and attached to the boy, and would not do it. Inadvertently his lack of action has lead to the near death of his pseudo grandson. Will you too, Councilman Yama, allow your fear and hesitation to stop you from what needs to be done?"_

_"..."_

_"Well?"_

_"...I...will support this motion, Danzo-san. Even though I truly wish it was not necessary."_

_"I have no illsuions that we may burn in hell for what we have decided on my friends. But reality does not favor our wishes. Sometimes we are forced to choose the lesser of two evils."_

_"When will the program begin?"_

_"When Uzumaki-san regains __consciousness, councilman Toran. In other words, 15 minutes."_

* * *

><p><em>"Subject 1009, day 24."<em>

_"Has there been any progress, Danzo-san?"_

_"In a way, yes and no. We have a greater understanding of his inert and inherited abilities and talents, but breaking him, ah, that's another story."_

_"He is still holding out? After more than three weeks of the regime?"_

_"Yes, I am amazed myself. His willpower and naivety are absurd. I would admire it if not for the fact that it is impeding our progress."_

_"It will not last forever. Everyone has a breaking point."_

* * *

><p><em>"Subject 1009, day 57"<em>

_"I have good news, my friends. We have made a leap in progress today."_

_"How so, Danzo-san?"_

_"Several of my ROOT agents have discovered snippets of Orochimaru's notes on blood line infusion. They could prove beneficial to our cause, and I have already sent a team to further analyze possible ways to utilize this procedure in the regime."_

_"But Danzo-san! Didn't Orochimaru's experiment involving the mokuton yield a 99.8% failure rate? Do you want to risk Konoha's deterrent on such odds!"_

_"Do not fear, councilman. While Orochimaru may have been gifted, my team are already at work on several flaws present in his procedure. That, coupled with Naruto-san's inherited regenerative powers from his mother, along with the biju's restorative powers, I believe he will survive the procedure. I have utmost faith in his determination."_

_"Will he not see it as a means to an end though, Danzo-san?"_

_"Do not worry, I will ensure that the procedure will be a success."_

* * *

><p><em>"Subject 1009, day 78"<em>

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"...Danzo-san?"_

_"Yes councilman Yama?"_

_"..."_

_"?"_

_"...do you ever think...that we made the wrong choice?"_

_"..."_

* * *

><p><em>"Subject 1009, day 81"<em>

_ "Danzo-san, we have heard of an...unsettling development..."_

_"What may that be, councilman Luron?"_

_"We have heard that amongst Orochimaru's detained experiments, there is one that the subject has formed a bond with..."_

_"This bond may conflict with our purposes for the boy."_

_"You are referring to subject 1344-B? Let me see...*sound of paper being shuffled*...ah! Yes, here she is. We won't be doing anything about it councilman Sardoy."  
><em>

_"And why is that! Surely this woman would give him a life line to hang on to!"_

_"Yes, while that may be true, my men have finished the improved treatment started by Orochimaru. After monitoring Naruto-san's vitals, they have assured me that this new blood line will form itself in the next few weeks. Subject 1344-B is arguably, the most stable specimen of Orochimaru's 64Z experiments. Their purpose was to help bring about bloodlines faster by having their offspring conform to homozygous traits associated with bloodlines. If she and naruto-san were ever to procreate, she would be the perfect subject to extend this new blood line."_

_"...Very well then, Danzo-san. We leave this to your decision. However, should it hamper with the subjects-"_

_"I have full confidence in my plans, thank you councilman Sardoy. Now I think it is time for us to bid farewell for now until the next meeting."_

* * *

><p><em>"Subject 1009, day 367"<em>

_"Danzo-san! What is the meaning of this?"_

_"You assured us a deterrent for Konoha! One that could ward off all possible enemies!"_

_"Yet how can we acomplish that when you let subjects 1009 and 1344-B slip from your grasp?"_

_*due to overlapping arguments and shouting, this section of the audiotape is indecipherable*_

_*SLAM*_

_"COUNCILMEN! Calm down, you are over reacting."_

_"Over reacting? OVER REACTING! TELL ME, DANZO-SAN, HOW SHOULD WE BE ACTING NOW THAT KONOHA'S ONLY, AND QUITE UNSTABLE, JINCHURIKI IS NOW LOOSE IN FIRE COUNTRY?"_

_"As I said, over reacting. You are under the impression that they escaped, and added that I have no idea where they are. Yet, at this very moment, my team is tracking them at a discrete distance, waiting to bring them back."_

_"So you mean to tell us, Danzo-san, that you willingly let them leave? Come off it old man, just man up to your mista-"_

_"Naruto-san knew of our intentions. He knew of subject 1344-B's purpose. With that in mind, he would fight us every step of the way. Ah, but what if he thought they were free? Free to carry out somewhat normal lives? Is it not most men's wish to start a family with one that they love? I say let him enjoy this small taste of the outside. That way, when we finally bring him back, broken, he will be Konoha's to command."_

_*Kushina smashed the tape at this before they could continue listening to it further*_

* * *

><p><em>"Subject 1009, day 643"<em>

_"Danzo-san, is it true the subject has become unresponsive?"_

_"..."_

_"?"_

_"...He knows all our names..."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"My ROOT, all those funding us, even all of us in this very room...He recites them every time we are with him..."_

_"!"_

_"His daughter has inherited his blood line, we may have to use her as leverage rather than a resource right now due to 1009's behavior..."_

* * *

><p><em>"Subject 1009, day 765"<em>

_"I believe we may have pushed too far my friends..."_

_"What has happened Danzo-san?"_

_"...The procedure, while improved, has brought forth a grave flaw..."_

_"The blood line?"_

_"Yes...It is taxing on 1009's body, not just chakra-wise, but on his very health..."  
><em>

_"!"_

_"S-Surely there is something you can do? Have yo-"_

_"I already have my medical teams researching it, but, with the rate it is going at, it may not be soon enough..."_

_"What of his daughter?"_

_"Whether by luck or 1344-B's doing, she is not privy to the fatal side effects."_

* * *

><p><em>"Subject 1009, day 893"<em>

_*sounds of bottles clanking on the floor are present. Sake bottles identified by Tsunade. Klaxons and sirens are blaring in the background, slightly muffled as if happening beyond the room's doors*_

_"...We're going to burn for what we did to you Naruto..."_

_*A crash, followed by an inhuman scream of pain...then static*_

* * *

><p>The cell's floor was made of rough cobblestone, cold and chaffing to the touch. A psychological weapon in itself, the room was meant to slowly chip away at the prisoner's resolve, without the use of a interrogator. Even as councilman Rūku Yama shifted to try to sleep, further nicking his legs against the sadistic floor, he knew this was nothing compared to the hell he helped submit the boy to. He knew his fate, death, and he had accepted it. A way to pay for the horrible atrocities he helped commit. It had gotten so dark he could not even see his hands in front of his face and shivered in the oddly cold air permeating the cell.<p>

Then, he felt it. A presence. Spending your career with shinobi you picked up on a few things. He turned, futilely attempting to see his visitor.

"...Why, if it isn't councilman Rūku Yama? How quaint to meet you here..."

He froze at the voice, nonetheless somewhat expecting a visit from him before he died. He felt his presence circling him, like a vulture stalking a beast at death's door.

"I-I am truly sorr-URK!" His apology was stopped as a cold, vice like grip enclosed wround his head, sliding his face on the grating floor, opening several cuts along the left side of his face.

"Don't talk. I didn't say you could. Now, where was I? Oh yes, why don't I give you a gift, Yama-san? A kindness, for all the gifts you have given me?" Councilman Yama silently screamed from the intense pain as He raked his claws against the man's chest, drawing deep gouges in his flesh in intricate patterns. "Beautiful, are they not?" he asked with sadistic glee, before the air turned cold.

"You thought you could hide from me. ME. After everything you've done."

"T-then why?...why d-did you let me live this long?" Councilman Yama stammered. He could almost make out the Cheshire grin on his executioner's face.

"To make you squirm. To make you count down each day as your co-conspirators were slowly offed. It was amusing...for a while. Now it is time for the final act...to come to an end." He replied, lazily drawing a spiral on the man's forehead, dragging his finger down form the dot in the middle down the bridge of his nose. Yama gulped audibly. He had prepared himself for death long before he turned himself in, he would face it bravely till the end.

"Grown a backbone now, have you? Don't worry, I'll treasure the look on your face before the lights leave your eyes...GOODBYE."

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><p>He felt it, the flash of pain in his chest, the absence of the staccato of his heartbeat. His head started to lull as his body grew quiet. It was not as gradual as he thought it would be, the out of body experience. He felt the cold, ominous presence, of what could only be the shinigami. He felt himself slowly dragged towards it, until a pain, so agonizing, so indescribable, dragged him away. It didn't stop.<p>

"This aura, this structure...I must thank you, councilman Yama, it seems you have given me another gift." Naruto shifted the glowing orb from its paper cage, to a swirl like seal that rested on his. The orb dissipated as it came in contact, lengthening the depth of the swirl. "Thank you, for the gift for my daughter, Councilman Yama. A shame...that I'll never see you in hell."

When the ANBU would visit the cell in the morning, they would find the mans body slumped against the wall, his eyes open and pleading for mercy, as his face was etched into a permanent grimace of unimaginable pain...

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><p><strong>I am still not satisfied with this chapter. I wanted to convey how Hinata has accepted that her love for Naruto was of him back then, and while the love was a pure, innocent one, it was a crush no less. I wanted top show that she now sees to help Naruto, for all the times he's helped and supported her, and see if that friendship can blossom into something greater. Anyways, I was going to put the 2nd confrontation of Konoha and Naruto, but I have already made you guys wait to long and the chapter would seem to run on forever. Again, I'm sorry for the now one chapter per month, but again, I have a new job and will be starting classes again in a few weeks, so I will be busy. Thabk you, my wonderful readers, please review! And please, NO FLAMES!<strong>


	8. IMPORTANT NOTICE!

**Dear Readers. **

**I am sorry that I have not updated this story in the longest time. I am even more sorry for what I'm about to tell you readers next. All my stories will be going on temporary Hiatus due to the recent divorce of my parents and thier strenuous relationship right now. With the uncertainty of my mother's job, I have been doing all I can to help while attending school and a part time job to help both her and my younger sister to find housing in the relative future. I'm not stating this for pity, I just wanted to inform you how things are right now, and how little free time I have for writing stories. While I won't be able to post anything soon, I will record any ideas I have. Again, I am sorry dear readers, but my family comes first.**

**-Kouken9493 **


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